Bolivia | World Bank

World Bank Board of Directors Approves New Support Strategy for the Plurinational State of Bolivia

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:15:24 GMT

Contacts:

In Washington: Gabriela Aguilar (202) 473-6768

In La Paz: Rafael Archondo (591-2) 215-3347

Washington, June 4, 2009 —The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved on Tuesday a new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) with the Plurinational State of Bolivia with a US$137 million budget for 2010 to 2011.

The new 2010-2011 CPS, the second negotiated between the Bank and the Morales government, will continue the development initiatives launched under the first CPS for 2007 and 2008 and provide funding for new projects as well. The first CPS launched 11 projects for US$273 million.

“This new strategy has been designed according to the National Development Plan, which guides the Bolivian government’s actions. More than anything, the World Bank’s support will aid in the fight against extreme poverty,” said Oscar Avalle, World Bank representative for Bolivia.

Under the new strategy, almost US$60 million will be allocated to farmers, US$20 million to improving access to electricity, US$15 million to investing in productive lands and US$20 million to municipalities and sub-national governments. Other allocations include:

US$77 million to improve highways,
US$20 million to revive the area around Lake Titicaca,
US$18 million to improve access to health services, and
US$30 million to implementing municipal projects in La Paz, El Alto and Santa Cruz.

Upon the conclusion of this CPS, the World Bank hopes to negotiate a longer-term strategy after the Plurinational State of Bolivia implements the reforms proposed in its new national constitution.

World Bank loans to the Plurinational State of Bolivia are interest-free to be repaid over 40 years.

For more information about the World Bank’s work in Bolivia, please visit: http://www.bancomundial.org.bo

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Post-construction support and sustainability in community-managed rural water supply : case studies in Peru, Bolivia, and Ghana

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

This volume reports the main findings from a multi-country research project that was designed to develop a better understanding of how rural water supply systems are performing in developing countries. The author began the research in 2004 to investigate how the provision of support to communities after the construction of a rural water supply project affected project performance in the medium term. The author collected information from households, village water committees, focus groups of village residents, system operators, and key informants in 400 rural communities in Bolivia, Ghana, and Peru; in total, the author discussed community water supply issues with approximately 10,000 individuals in these communities. To the surprise, the author found the great majority of the village water systems were performing well. The findings on the factors influencing their sustainability will be of use to policy makers, investors, and managers in rural water supply.

Bolivia: Rural Alliances Project [Additional Financing]

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:41:15 GMT

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2009 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved the following project:

IDA Credit: US$30 Million

Terms: Maturity = 35 years; Grace = 10 years

Project Description: The Rural Alliances Project for Bolivia aims to improve accessibility to markets for poor rural producers in selected sub-regions of the country. The project consists of three components: (1) Financing technical assistance and training to provide the institutional and organizational support needed for the creation of productive alliances at the local level. The component will give a particular focus to the development of the institutional capacity of small producers to become partners in new marketing arrangements with the private sector. (2) Providing support for the implementation of the rural alliances prepared under the first component. (3) Efficient and effective coordination of the project and a Monitoring and Evaluation system which can measure the improved access to markets by poor producers, and growth in rural incomes. The additional funding will finance scaling-up of project activities to enhance development impact by expanding the project into two new sub-regions of the country and by co-financing a greater number of rural alliances in the original project area. The project development objective will not be changed.

Media Contact

Gabriela Aguilar

(202) 473-6768

gaguilar2@worldbank.org

For more information please visit: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P111863

Bolivia - Innovation and Agricultural Services Project

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Bolivia - Rural Alliances Project : additional financing

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT

This project paper provides an additional credit to the Rural Alliances Project in Bolivia. The additional credit will help finance scaling-up of project activities to enhance development impact by expanding the project into two new sub-regions of the country and by co-financing a greater number of rural alliances in the original project area. The project development objective will not be changed. The following changes to the outcome indicators are: (i) the"Increase in income per day of labor"and the"increment in the sale price of product"will be eliminated, since both indicators depend mostly on factors outside of project control; (ii) the expected values of the"growth in income of rural productive units"and the"increase in the volume marketed per rural productive unit"will be modified from an accumulated end-of-project increase of 54 percent to an accumulated three-year increase of 45 percent per alliance, in order to facilitate measurement during the life of the project; and (iii) the project will add the"number of financed alliances with an internal rate of return greater than 12.5 percent"indicator in order to provide a more accurate measure of success.

Bolivia - Additional Financing for Rural Alliances Project

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Bolivia - Additional Financing for Rural Alliances Project

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Bolivia - Second Phase of the Health Sector Reform Project

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Ratings for the Second Phase of the Health Sector Reform Project for Bolivia were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: the use of a project executing unit not fully integrated to the Ministry of Health's core organizational configuration may undermine its active involvement in project implementation activities. Based on the experience gained during the first phase, project design made an attempt to move the implementation unit closer to the ministry's mainstream activities. This lukewarm effort did not yield meaningful results. On the contrary, most senior staff from the Ministry resented the existence of this special unit with higher salaries and easy access to the Minister. Performance Agreements became a very useful tool to consolidate a results-oriented culture. This was a powerful tool introduced by the Health Reform Program that has had a positive impact for managing decentralized health programs. One key feature was the use of a limited number of clearly defined indicators with realistic targets that helped to keep programs well-focused. Close monitoring using a consistent methodology enabled corrective actions to be taken in atimely manner. The use of revolving funds to manage the transfer of financial resources also proved a very useful tool. It is crucial to address cultural barriers created by ethnic diversity to further improve health indicators in Bolivia. Cultural diversity remains the greatest challenge for improved maternal and child health of the poor in Bolivia. The program began to bridge the cultural barrier with the use of specially tailored activities, but they need to be developed in greater depth to accommodate cultural factors. Coverage of prenatal controls and births attended by trained health personnel stagnated during the project period and cultural barriers has been mentioned as one of the critical factors to making further progress.

Consultations on the Bank Web Site

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:37:38 GMT

Dear reader,

A few years ago, the World Bank’s Web site was noted as a leader among development organizations’ websites. As technology has rapidly advanced and user expectations evolved, our Web site too needs to change and adapt.

You come to our Web site because you are looking for the latest information on development. Our project information, data and research assist you in tackling your challenges or keeping up on the Bank’s activities.

Now we’re catching up. We are revamping our Web site and expanding our online capabilities to better satisfy our business needs and meet audience demands.

We’re examining all aspects of the site—content, technology, business needs and audience demands—to figure out what needs to stay, be improved or be removed.

This is a complex undertaking. We are currently gathering information to determine requirements for our future site.

Through our open online consultation, we are looking for comments from anyone who wishes to discuss their information needs and any difficulties they encounter with the site. The online consultation period ends on December 31, 2008.

All feedback we receive will inform the future design and functionality of the Web site by informing Bank management on audience needs.

Our ultimate goal is to make the Web site better support the institution’s mission of fighting global poverty and helping countries develop.

Your feedback will bring us closer to this goal.

Thank you,

Angie Gentile
Managing Editor, www.worldbank.org

Bolivia: Better Access to Essential Health Services

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:02:24 GMT

Last Updated: Sept 2008

Links:
- What is IDA?
- Our Work in Bolivia

More on Bolivia:
- Borrowing History
- Data & Statistics
- Research
- Contact Us

Bolivia has a history of poor maternal and infant mortality indicators, lagging behind other countries with similar income levels, such as Honduras and Nicaragua. Improving such unsatisfactory health outcomes is critical for improved quality of life and sustained development. At the time of project design, infant mortality in Bolivia was estimated at 67 per 1000 live births (compared to an average of 33 for other lower middle-income countries), and maternal mortality was equally high at 390 per 100,000 live births (compared to 163 in other lower middle-income countries). The picture was even bleaker in rural areas, where infant mortality was 50 percent higher than in urban areas, and in poor households, where 147 out of every 1,000 children were expected to die before age 5.

This project was designed as a countrywide programmatic intervention in several stages (Adaptable Program Loan, or APL). The first two operations were specifically focused on reducing infant and maternal mortality by improving the quality and accessibility of essential maternal and child health services, particularly for low-income groups.

The project yielded improved health outcomes in rapid fashion. It helped reduce the infant mortality rate from 67 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 54 deaths in 2003. Maternal mortality dropped from 390 per 100,000 live births in the mid-1990s to 234 in 2001.

Highlights:
- The percentage of births attended by trained health personnel increased to 54 percent in 2002 from 42 percent in 1998.
- The number of pneumonia cases in children under 5 attended in health services rose from 81,462 in 1998 to 128,244 in 2002.
- The number of acute diarrhea diseases in children under 5 attended in health services rose from 337,123 in 1998 to 426,697 in 2001.
- The percentage of children who received third doses of DPT/Hib/Hepatitis B vaccines rose from 77 percent in 1998 to 100 percent in 2002.
- The number of municipalities with DPT/Hib/Hepatitis B vaccine coverage below 80 percent was reduced from 171 in 1998 to 53 in 2002.
- The project’s structure is being used to support new government programs. For example, it established mobile health brigades that continue to reach almost 200 of the most vulnerable municipalities in the country. This mechanism has now become the main instrument to implement the current administration’s main strategy in the health sector, Desnutrición 0.
- In addition, this was one of the first projects in the region to focus on clear and measurable results, and its monitoring and evaluation arrangements—including the system of health indicators developed for this operation—are now widely used throughout the World Bank portfolio.

Total project cost was US$26.26 million of which IDA provided US$21.93 million and the Government of Bolivia US$4.33 million. IDA was able to draw on its international and multi-sector experience in helping to design and introduce a successful model of delivering public health services. The Bank’s long-term engagement in Bolivia and experience in other countries facing similar challenges was instrumental in adopting a bottom-up approach to maternal and child-health services—particularly through public insurance schemes, performance agreements, prioritized investment subprojects, and cost-effective health interventions. Prior analysis identified key economic barriers to access in the health sector: only about 30-35 percent of the population had access to social security or private health insurance, and the rest—mainly the poor and rural inhabitants—traditionally had to pay user fees for health services, even in public facilities. Establishing a public financing scheme for priority health interventions for infants, pregnant women, and women of childbearing age helped overcome this problem and had a spectacular effect on infant and maternal mortality.

Despite progress, Bolivia will need to sustain efforts to improve health outcomes. IDA continues to support these efforts through the second phase of the Health Sector Reform APL (which became effective in February 2002 and closed in June 2008) and its third phase (approved in January 2008).

Bolivia: Abapó-Camiri Highway Project

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:01:05 GMT

Last Updated: Sept 2008

Links:
- What is IDA?
- Our Work in Bolivia

More on Bolivia:
- Borrowing History
- Data & Statistics
- Research
- Contact Us

About 40 percent of Bolivia’s estimated population of 9.2 million people lives in extreme poverty, defined as less than $1 per day. The country is landlocked and mountainous. Distances between cities are long, and rural areas thinly populated. With its proximity to neighbors Argentina and Paraguay, eastern Bolivia has high potential for agricultural trade—but suffers from an underdeveloped road system. This has limited the ability of Bolivian farmers to get their products to promising markets. By the late 1990s, the poor condition of the 150 km Abapó-Camiri section of the main highway connecting eastern Bolivia with its southern neighbors was a major constraint on economic development.

To address this problem, the Bolivian Government requested World Bank support. The reconstruction and paving of the Abapó-Camiri Highway was more complex and larger in scale than previous Bank transport projects in Bolivia. It required bypasses of a major bridge and towns, and the highway transited several small indigenous communities. The project also aimed to finance a backlog of highway maintenance in the broader eastern region to improve traffic flows into the Abapó-Camiri section.

IDA’s investment in the Abapó-Camiri Highway Project more than doubled vehicle traffic along the road and decreased road-user costs by half, encouraging increased trade within the region, and with markets in neighboring Argentina and Paraguay.

The construction of the Abapó-Camiri Highway, including the bridge over the Rio Grande, the Camiri Bypass, and the access road to El Espino, benefited an estimated 1.3 million people who use the road. Its standards of highway design and construction are comparable to those in developed countries; it cost less than anticipated.

Highlights:
- At US$524,000 per km, actual costs were 15 percent lower than initial estimates. This compares favorably with highway sections constructed in Bolivia using rigid pavement, where final costs ranged from US$700,000 to US$800,000 per km.
- Traffic volumes, measured in vehicles per day, more than doubled along the route, from a baseline of 230 vehicles per day on the Abapó-Ipati section in 1999 to over 600 by the end of 2005; and from 370 to 650 per day on the Ipati-Camiri section.
- Average travel speeds more than doubled during the same period, from 33 to 80 km/hr for cars, from 30 to 75 km/hr for buses, and from 17 to 65 km/hr for heavy trucks.
- As a result, cost to users per vehicle per km dropped from US$0.55 before the project to US$0.22 after. For heavy trucks, costs dropped from US$1.59 in 1999 to US$0.62 resulting in increased competitiveness of Bolivian exports.
- All the highway sections provide robust economic benefits, with economic rates of return between 15 and 41 percent. The project’s net present value was US$66.6 million (at a 12 percent discount rate), 40 percent higher than the appraisal estimate.

IDA’s financial support was critical. The World Bank existing relationship with the National Road Service helped facilitate design and implementation. The Government tapped into the Bank’s extensive experience with similar projects and was open to advice about institutional and maintenance arrangements. Moreover, Bank involvement enhanced transparency in the bidding process and limited political interference, which helped control costs and uphold schedules.

The Bank brought with it vast experience in environmental safeguards, land acquisition, and resettlement—beyond standard Government practices. The project integrated the concerns of local indigenous communities, whose population totaled over 15,000 persons. In addition to the direct benefits of improved roads, these communities benefited from the Indigenous Peoples Alternative Development Plan, with its 28 subprojects in health, education, agricultural productivity, clean water supply, handicrafts, and micro-enterprise development.

Because of the Abapó-Camiri corridor’s importance in Bolivia’s agricultural development, the central and regional governments have continued to focus on it. The Strategic Plan for the Preservation of the National Road Network for 2002-2006 was used to develop road maintenance plans. Its successor, the Bolivia Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Project, currently aims to revamp the institutional framework for road maintenance. Meanwhile, agricultural trade in eastern Bolivia is growing as a result of the improved roads.

Global food and fuel crisis will increase malnourished by 44 million

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:30:00 GMT

Contacts:
In Washington :Carl Hanlon 202-473-8087; chanlon@worldbank.org;
Philip Hay 202-473-1796
phay@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, October 8, 2008 – High food and fuel prices will increase the number of malnourished people around the world in 2008 by 44 million to reach a total of 967 million, a report from the World Bank says.

While food and fuel price increases may have moderated in recent months, prices remain much higher than previous years and show few signs of declining significantly, according to the report entitled “Rising food and fuel prices: addressing the risks to future generations”. Poor families around the world are being pushed to the brink of survival, causing irreparable damage to the health of millions of children. As families cut back on spending, there are also grave risks for the educational performance of poor children.

“While people in the developed world are focused on the financial crisis, many forget that a human crisis is rapidly unfolding in developing countries. It is pushing poor people to the brink of survival,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “The financial crisis will only make it more difficult for developing countries to protect their most vulnerable people from the impact of rising food and fuel costs.”

The report, due to be presented on Sunday to the Development Committee at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, says the food and fuel crisis could have long term effects on poor people and countries. Malnourished children cannot develop into healthy adults and become productive members of society who can contribute to the growth needed to lift themselves and their country out of poverty.

The report says priority should be given to a series of targeted measures. These include:

Making existing targeted cash (or near cash) transfer programs more generous;
Getting nutrition to infants and pregnant women;
expanding so-called ”in-kind” food distribution programs including school feeding and the distribution of fortified calorically dense food;
using fee waivers, lifeline-pricing and other forms of targeted subsidies for poor users/consumers; and
introducing additional measures to prevent children from dropping out of school, such as fee waivers, subsidies for school inputs, or cash transfers.

The report also argues that allocating the necessary amount of budget to finance an expansion of safety net programs may require pruning less-priority spending in other areas. But it notes that well-designed safety net programs do not have to be prohibitively expensive to be effective. Some of the most successful programs in the world cost well under 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Moreover, investing in safety net programs now will give governments new tools to address not just the current crisis, but future ones as well.

In May, the World Bank launched a $1.2 billion rapid financing facility to help poor countries cope with the food crisis. Since then, around US$850 million has been committed to finance seeds, plantings, and feeding programs. In April, Zoellick called for a New Deal for Global Food Policy that included short, medium and long-term measures to provide immediate help to poor people and farmers while increasing food production.

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For more information on the Bank's work in nutrition, please visit: www.worldbank.org/nutrition

and for more on social safety nets, click here: www.worldbank.org/safetynets

Bolivia: Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:46:19 GMT

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2008- The following project was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors:

IDA Credit: US$4.4 Million

TERMS: Maturity = 35 Years; Grace Period = 10 Years

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project will support the implementation of the proposed works in the National Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Plan (PNRR) to recover from the effects of El Niño and La Niña in order to restore access to basic infrastructure and rehabilitate productive sector for a portion of the affected population in the nine departments, and to strengthen the Government’s ability at the national, sectoral, and municipal levels throughout the country to respond to future disasters.

For more information, please call Gabriela Aguilar at (202) 473-6768 or e-mail here at gaguilar2@worldbank.org

Climate Change: WB Announces Adaptation Program for Glacier Retreat In The Andes

Thu, 29 May 2008 23:45:00 GMT

Contacts:

In Lima– Sandra Arzubiaga (511) 615-0660
sarzubiaga@worldbank.org

In La Paz: Rafael Archondo (591-2) 215-3347

rarchondo@worldbank.org

In Washington- Stevan Jackson +1 202 458-5054

sjackson@worldbank.org

Lima, May 29, 2008 –The World Bank announced today a new program to address the impact of tropical glacier retreat in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. The program, supported by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), will grant US$7.49 million to implement a set of adaptation actions to face the threats posed by climate change in the Andes. The project totals US$ 33 million and draws from several donors.

The new Adaptation to the Impact of Rapid Glacier Retreat in the Tropical Andes Project (Andes Region Project) in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador targets mountainous and glacial areas.

“Climate change will heavily impact Andean countries’ economies, particularly the poor. Adapting to climate change is crucial given the severe and irreversible effects it will have on the region,” stated Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank director for Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, during the project launch in Lima.

The initiative seeks to strengthen the resilience of local ecosystems and economies affected by rapid tropical glacier retreat by implementing pilot adaptation activities that illustrate the costs and benefits of adaptation alternatives. The project’s specific objectives are:

a) The effective integration of the implications of glacier retreat into regional and local development planning, particularly in glacier basins

b) The inclusion of glacier retreat impacts in local development projects and programs

c) The collection of data on glacier dynamics to improve policy decisions.

“This project will help Andean countries monitor the changes in tropical glaciers and the evolution of mountain wetlands, as well as implement pilot adaptation measures, as a key input for decision-making on how to address the impacts of glacier retreat,” commented Walter Vergara, head of Latin America’s adaptation project portfolio.

This project is part of the World Bank’s strategy to help the regions’ countries face the impacts of climate change. In April, the World Bank signed an agreement with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) giving it access to cutting-edge expertise and information from the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS). These images and data will support World Bank-sponsored adaptation projects in Colombia, Mexico, the West Indies, and the Andes region of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The ALOS images of tropical glaciers in the Andes will be used to assess these glaciers’ dynamics under the project approved today.

To date, World Bank investments in climate change adaptation initiatives in Latin America reach US$90 million.

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For more information on the Adaptation to the Impact of Rapid Glacier Retreat in the Tropical Andes Project, visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?Projectid=P098248&theSitePK=40941&pagePK=64283627&menuPK=228424&piPK=73230

For more information on the World Bank’s work in climate change in Latin America, visit: http://www.bancomundial.org/alc

Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru: Adaptation to the Impact of Rapid Glacier Retreat in the Tropical Andes Project

Tue, 27 May 2008 21:17:29 GMT

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008- The following project was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors:

GEF Trust Fund: US$7.49 million

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This project aims to contribute to strengthening the resilience of local ecosystems and economies to the impacts of glacier retreat in the Tropical Andes, through the implementation of specific pilot adaptation activities that illustrate the costs and benefits of adaptation. The specific objectives of the project, in support of this broad objective, are: a) the

effective integration of the implications of glacier retreat into the regional and local planning in

glacierized basins; b) the inclusion of glacier retreat impacts in local, sector development

projects; and c) generation of data on glacier dynamics.

For more information please callGabriela Aguilar at 202-473-6768 or e-mail gaguilar2@worldbank.org

New report on economic growth offers lessons on achieving sustained, high economic growth

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:11:32 GMT

Contacts:

In Washington:

Maya Brahmam at +1-202-473-6231 or email at mbrahmam@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2008 – The World Bank Group welcomes a new report by the independent Commission on Growth and Development, a global panel of eminent experts, which reveals important lessons from countries that have achieved high, long-term economic growth. The experts say the lessons learned could help policy makers in developing countries as they seek to set their countries on a steady growth path.

The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development says integration into the world economy, maintaining high rates of savings and investment, and committed, capable governments are among the key features of countries that have sustained growth rates above 7 percent for 25 uninterrupted years since World War II.

"This report underscores to the development community that one size doesn’t fit all." said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. I am especially pleased that it draws on input from first class practitioners and leaders who have hands-on pragmatic and practical experience of making inclusive development a success. This will help enrich the thinking and practice of the World Bank Group as well as others in the development field.” “

High, long-lasting growth is not easily achieved, but the report by some of the world’s top policy-makers and thinkers, believes it can be reproduced in developing countries, giving them a chance to reduce poverty and improve opportunity and quality of life for their citizens.

“We are acutely aware that there are no silver bullets to create long-running, inclusive growth, and that no single paradigm exists,” says Commission Vice Chair Danny Leipziger, who is also Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management at the World Bank. “While seeking to identify those key elements that can lead to long running and inclusive growth, the report is clear that policy makers will need to customize and experiment with polices rather than follow any rigid set of guidelines.”

Commission Chairman Michael Spence said: " What makes the report so unique is that it was prepared by policymakers, many from developing countries, who have been in the trenches themselves and have learned what works and why. It is these commissioners who are now providing their insights to the next generation of policymakers on ways to improve growth prospects and the quality of life in the poor parts of the globe."

Spence is one of two Nobel Laureates on the 21-member commission comprising leaders from business, government and academia. The Commissioners come from 18 countries that include a broad mix of developing, emerging and developed economies, as well as small island states and populous, large countries.

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To download full report click here:

http://www.growthcommission.org/

World Bank Broadens Transport Agenda

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Contacts
In Washington:
Roger Morier (202) 473 5675, rmorier@worldbank.org
Anna Piasecka (202) 458 7027, apiasecka@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 21, 2008 – The World Bank Group today launched a new transport business strategy for 2008-2012 that will help partner countries establish the governance, strategies, policies and services to deliver transport for development in a way that is economically, financially, environmentally and socially sustainable.

Called Safe, Clean, and Affordable… Transport for Development, the business strategy strengthens the alignment of the transport sector approach with the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000. At the same time, it widens the directions and deepens the routes that will be taken to meet the evolving development agenda. It gives more attention to emerging trends, such as trade globalization, urbanization of populations; rising concerns about climate change, the increase in traffic congestion; and the recognition of access as a key to both economic opportunity and good governance.

“In striving to achieve its development objectives—and foremost to eradicate poverty—the World Bank Group is mobilizing the transport sector to the fullest possible extent,” said Katherine Sierra, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. ”To that end, the transport business strategy aligns Bank Group instruments along a few key strategic directions that will pave the way to truly sustainable development, one where transport plays a crucial role.”

“In a world with rising levels of greenhouse gases, poor road safety, and the too-frequent spread of communicable diseases along international routes, transport must be looked at anew. A coherent way forward requires innovative thinking and cooperation among sectors to optimize the role of transport without jeopardizing personal and commercial mobility.”

The Bank Group consulted widely in preparing its new business strategy, seeking contributions from over 75 transport development partners, governments, professional institutions, civil society organizations, multilateral and bilateral donors, and putting an early draft on its external website for four months to elicit public comments.

Safe Transport
Acknowledging the importance of transport for achieving public health outcomes within the Millennium Development Goals, the strategy stresses the need to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to address safety in all transport modes, especially road transport. It also addresses the safety issue in air transport which, although globally much safer, still shows a safety record significantly affecting growth and investment prospects in some regions, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa. Transport and supply-chain security has also become a major issue in ensuring fair access of developing country exports to developed markets, and needs to be addressed as a new global public good.

“Road crashes kill an estimated 1.2 million people a year and injure 50 million more, disproportionately affecting the poor,” said Anthony Bliss, Lead Road Safety Specialist, Program Coordinator for the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility. “We are placing special emphasis on road safety, extending our support to include not only road safety components embedded in road infrastructure projects, but also larger stand-alone projects to formulate national policies and strategies that would improve road safety across the board. We will also pursue cross-sectoral approaches, such as including pre-hospital components in road programs and road safety components in health programs.”

Clean Transport
Urban air pollution, 90 percent of it generated by motor vehicles, kills an estimated 800,000 people each year. Transport now produces approximately 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reflecting the contribution of transport to the wider environmental aims of the Millennium Development Goals, the strategy encompasses the transport-energy-environment nexus, from the energy consumption to the emissions and climate change impact perspectives. Going forward, the World Bank Group will be working to help restrain transport energy consumption. It will be assessing and controlling transport projects emissions, favoring shifts to low carbon modes.

“We are setting guidelines for environmentally effective transport planning and decision making,” said Jamal Saghir, Director, Energy, Transport and Water Department and Chair of the Transport Sector Board. “We are seeking ways to mitigate the effects of transport on the climate—and the effects of climate change on transport asset. We intend to build climate change issues into transport project appraisals where appropriate.”

Affordable Transport
An estimated 1 billion people in low-income countries lack access to an all-weather road. Affordable transport can enhance mobility and inclusion. It can promote social, economic, and political integration, by keeping a country together despite geographic disparities, by overcoming potential disputes over access to resources, and by defusing the seeds of conflict that sometimes arise from feelings of isolation.

Marc Juhel, Sector Manager for Transport stressed the fact that affordability concerns not only the rural and urban poor, but also the whole freight economy, aiming at improving competitiveness to foster stronger economic growth:

“The strategy stresses the need for better knowledge and control of transport costs, for both passengers and freight, on domestic and regional, urban and rural settings. The implementation of an effective urban transport strategy, reaching out to the growing urban poor population, is a key element of this approach. On the freight side, the cooperative work on trade and transport facilitation—in particular on customs and transit issues—will be strengthened.”

World Bank contribution to transport over previous decade
Since the Bank’s 1996 transport strategy, Sustainable Transport, was endorsed by the World Bank’s Board of Directors, the Bank Group has committed around US$42 billion for more than 530 dedicated transport operations and transport components in over 500 non-transport specific projects in more than 100 client countries. Lending in fiscal year 2007 (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007) reached over US$5 billion, amounting to 20 percent of World Bank Group new annual commitments.

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View the transport business strategy—Safe, Clean, and Affordable… Transport for Development at: http://www.worldbank.org/transport

World Bank Group President Appoints Vice President of Institutional Integrity

Mon, 05 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Contacts:
In Washington: Carl Hanlon (202) 473 8087
chanlon@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. May 5, 2008 – World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick has named South African Leonard McCarthy to head the Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT). McCarthy has earned international recognition for investigations and prosecutions of individuals engaged in corruption as head of South Africa’s Directorate of Special Operations.

“Leonard McCarthy is recognized worldwide for his integrity, independence, and effectiveness in fighting corruption and strengthening good governance,” says Zoellick. “This is the first time that the Department of Institutional Integrity will be headed at the level of Vice President, and McCarthy brings to the post stature, skill, and tested experience. This post is critical for our work, reputation, and fiduciary duty. I am confident that he will bring effective leadership to our highest obligation to protect the Bank’s assets and hold people, businesses, and governments responsible if they steal from the poor.”

McCarthy’s work with South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority has included investigating and prosecuting high profile cases of financial crime, organized crime, and high-level corruption. He has worked closely with African governments and law enforcement officials across the globe to expose and prosecute transnational financial crime. McCarthy was formerly a Director of Public Prosecutions appointed by President Nelson Mandela.

An experienced trial lawyer, he has held numerous positions in government, including Investigating Director in the Office for Serious Economic Offenses, Deputy Attorney General in Cape Province and Senior Public Prosecutor. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of South Africa in Cape Town.

Following talks with the South African government, President Mbeki has agreed to release McCarthy from service, to take up the position at the World Bank on June 30, 2008.

“I am honored to receive this appointment and to be joining the World Bank, I believe strongly in its vision, said McCarthy. “President Zoellick has made clear to me the strong emphasis he places on INT’s role, its need for strong, highly skilled people who will both pursue investigations and integrate anti-corruption work into Bank projects across the world. I am committed to delivering results and building on INT’s work to strengthen financial due diligence and ensure that precious development resources benefit people who need them most.”

McCarthy was selected from a list of candidates assessed by an internal search committee with the addition of former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who led a review of INT last year. In his report Volcker called for greater attention to protect against corruption in designing and implementing Bank programs.

Mr. Volcker has welcomed the fact that: “the Bank is now implementing the recommendations of the Panel he chaired, importantly including elevating the head of INT to the level of vice president.”

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World Bank Marks World Press Freedom Day with Study on Broadcasting and Development

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:30:00 GMT

Contact:

In Washington: Christopher Neal, (202) 473-2049

Cneal1@worldbank.org

MAPUTO, May 2, 2008—The World Bank marked World Press Freedom Day by launching a study outlining conditions under which radio, television and online broadcasting can fulfil a vital role in development by making governments accountable, and giving voice to the world’s poor.

“Huge numbers of people, including those who can’t read, have access to broadcast media,” said Kreszentia Duer, of the World Bank Institute (WBI), who presented the study, Broadcasting, Voice and Accountability, at a conference here on freedom of expression hosted by UNESCO. “In countries with strong oral traditions, community broadcasting can enable people to share information and raise issues with a large audience, and hold government officials to account. This makes broadcasting a powerful tool for enhancing governance and promoting development.”

The 400-page study, subtitled A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law and Regulation, is the result of five years of research by six media experts, including Ms. Duer, Steve Buckley, president of the World Association of Community Broadcasters; Toby Mendel, ARTICLE 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression; Seán Ó Siochrú, founder of the Campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society; Monroe E. Price, of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; and Marc Raboy, of Canada’s McGill University.

The study reviews broadcasting practices and regulations around the world, and identifies those which produce an “enabling environment” for broadcasting that is free, independent and pluralistic. These characteristics are essential, the report says, for broadcasting to perform an effective role in giving people voice, and ensuring government accountability.

Drawing from their research, the authors propose standards on freedom of expression, access to information, use and misuses of defamation law, content rules and limits to free speech, and the regulation of journalists. The study also offers guidelines on best practice for broadcast regulators, as well as the respective roles of public service, community non-profit, and commercial private sector broadcasters, all of which, it argues, should be present in a healthy media environment.

Co-author Steve Buckley notes that increased movement towards democracy in developing countries opens the way to build broadcasting that serves the public interest.

“Countries that are opening their economies, democratizing, and decentralizing public service delivery are looking for guidance on how to involve citizens in decisions that affect them,” he said. “Broadcasting, enabled by the right regulation and conditions, can empower groups through bottom-up participation.”

The book cites countries that have developed systems to enhance the quality and diversity of media content, while fully respecting freedom of expression, and identifies ways in which government regulation can expand access to broadcast media. Community broadcasting, for example, can be encouraged through special licensing arrangements that guarantee fair and equitable access to radio frequencies and financial support.

“This book focuses on useful proactive approaches to setting up, sustaining, and governing broadcasting systems across the world,” said Ruth Teer-Tomaselli, UNESCO Chair in Communication for Southern Africa at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. “It’s based on sound scholarship and provides practical advice for policymakers, media scholars and broadcasters alike.”

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For more information, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/0,,contentMDK:21747844~pagePK:209023~piPK:207535~theSitePK:213799,00.html

To order: http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=8100893

World Bank President Calls for Plan to Fight Hunger in Pre-Spring Meetings Address

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:53:10 GMT

April 2, 2008—In a speech today, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick called for a "new deal" to combat world hunger and malnutrition through a combination of emergency aid and long-term efforts to boost agricultural productivity in developing countries.

The "New Deal for a Global Food Policy" is part of a suite of initiatives Zoellick outlined to advance development in the face of skyrocketing food and oil prices. He also called for a global trade deal to be agreed as soon as possible, detailed an initiative to help countries manage their wealth earned from high energy and mineral prices in a more inclusive way, and encouraged sovereign wealth funds to create a "One Percent Solution" for equity investment in Africa.

Agricultural Assistance

The World Bank will nearly double agricultural assistance to US$800 million in Africa. Zoellick also urged wealthy nations to help the UN’s World Food Program meet some $500 million in emergency food needs.

"The United States, the European Union, Japan and other OECD countries must act now to fill this gap – or many more people will suffer and starve," Zoellick said in an address sponsored by the Center for Global Development in Washington.

Zoellick said the "New Deal for a Global Food Policy" is needed to combat the "forgotten" Millennium Development Goal of overcoming malnutrition. Only about a tenth of the resources directed at HIV/AIDS goes to fight malnutrition, which causes 3.5 million deaths a year in children under 5 and has long-lasting impacts on health and achievement.

"Hunger and malnutrition are a cause, not just a result, of poverty," said Zoellick.

The World Bank estimates 33 countries face social unrest because of soaring food and energy prices.

The New Deal requires a shift from traditional food aid to a broader concept of food and nutrition assistance, such as cash or vouchers that can help build local food markets and farm production,.and create a "Green Revolution" for Sub-Saharan Africa, said Zoellick.

"This New Deal should focus not only on hunger and nutrition, access to food and its supply, but also the interconnections with energy, yields, climate change, investment, the marginalization of women and others, and economic resiliency and growth," said Zoellick.

"Food policy needs to gain the attention of the highest political levels, because no one country or group can meet these interconnected challenges."

Zoellick said the World Bank Group can help by:

Backing emergency measures that support the poor while encouraging incentives to produce and harvest food
Offering access to technology and science to boost yields
Helping countries counter weather-related risks, such as drought
Facilitating land-titling, local currency financing, working capital, distribution and logistics, and support for services on which farmers rely

"Income gains in agriculture have three times the power in overcoming poverty than increases in other sectors, and 75 percent of the world’s poor are rural, with most involved in farming," said Zoellick.

Trade Also Key to Lower Food Prices

Zoellick said the time was "now or never" to break the impasse in global trade talks. A "fairer and more open trading system" would encourage developing country farmers to expand production, he said.

"The poor need lower food prices now. But the world’s agricultural trading system is stuck in the past. If ever there was a time to cut distorting agricultural subsidies and open markets for food imports, it must be now."

An accord would give developing countries, big and small, more opportunities to become more productive and lower prices through trade. It would also infuse confidence in an economic system stressed by financial anxiety, he said.

However, "powerful voices across the political spectrum, including in my own country, are calling for, rationalizing, protectionism," Zoellick said. "This economic isolationism signals a defeatism that will reap the losses, not the gains, of globalization."

The trade talks are also a "critical test" for striking a global deal on climate change. "If negotiators of 150 economies cannot manage the political tradeoffs of the Doha Round to reap the clear benefits, it does not auger well for bringing developed and developing countries together on a new accord for climate change."

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Zoellick also outlined a plan to encourage emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil to invest about US$30 billion in African nations through government-sponsored wealth funds.

Such sovereign wealth funds currently hold about US$3 trillion in assets. They have come under scrutiny recently because of investments outside their own countries. Zoellick noted they need transparency and should be guided by best practices to avoid politicization, but "where some see sovereign funds as a source of concern, we see opportunity," said Zoellick.

The World Bank’s "One Percent Solution" involves creating the equity investment platforms and benchmarks to attract these investors, and allocating 1 percent of the assets to African growth, development and opportunity.

"This one percent could be the start of something much bigger, across more types of funds and countries, because the investment of wealth into equity for development offers opportunity, not something to fear."

Extractive Industries Initiative

Zoellick announced a new approach to help ensure that high energy and commodity prices translate into improvements in the lives of the poor.

The EITI++ builds on the transparency and good governance concepts of the existing multi-stakeholder Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). EITI publicizes and verifies company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. But many governments are emphasizing that transparent revenue reporting, while important, is not enough. The World Bank is therefore working with developing countries and other partners to frame a "comprehensive approach to supplement the original project."

EITI++ will include providing technical assistance to countries on the awarding of contracts, monitoring operations, collecting taxes, improving resource extraction and economic decisions, better managing price volatility, and investing revenues effectively in sustainable development.

An EITI++ approach will be launched in Guinea. "The successful development of Guinea’s rich resources can strengthen sustainable development for the entire region," Zoellick said.

"The EITI++ can advance inclusive and sustainable globalization by broadening the beneficiaries of resource development."