Afghanistan | World Bank

Afghanistan - Improvement of Power Supply to Kabul Project

2009-10-21T04:00:00.000Z

Ratings for the Improvement of Power Supply to Kabul Project for Afghanistan were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was high, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: when the project was initiated, very little was known about the extent of the damage to the infrastructure or the status and trajectory of the security situation. This uncertainty was the principal driver of both the cost overruns and the project delays. The costs increased because more repairs than expected were needed to rehabilitate the hydropower facility and because there was significant added security cost. Some of the security factors should have been considered up front, such as the cost of demining and certification, but others were unexpected. The initial understanding was that the security situation would continually improve so there was never an agreement about how to manage or pay for security. By the time things got worse and provision of security was necessary, Kredit fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) had to meet Voith Siemens' demands, with little room for negotiation since there was no reference price or competitive bidding process. At that point, the only options were to reach a common understanding regarding the cost or not complete the project.

Afghanistan - Education Quality Improvement Project

2009-10-16T04:00:00.000Z

Ratings for the Education Quality Improvement Project for Afghanistan were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was high, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: systematic sector analysis in fragile and post-country contexts, even with limited data available, contributes to better project design. The 'securing Afghanistan's future' report exemplifies the positive contributions of a basic systematic sector analysis to project design and quality at entry. Flexibility and fast response policies and approaches need to be balanced with minimum standards for program planning, decision making and management. Targeting and differentiated strategies are needed in highly heterogeneous post-conflict countries. Simple emergency designs do not have to be homogenous and could include, for example, targeted and differentiated interventions for rural and urban communities, secure and unsecure areas, and secular and Islamic messages. Aid channeled through Government should contribute to identify practical ways to continue to improve public financial management (PFM) execution and solve bottlenecks for social services delivery.

The project Afghanistan Pension Administration and Safety Net Project has changed to Active

2009-10-16T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Pension Administration and Safety Net Project has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

This project paper provides a grant to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for a Pension Administration and Safety Net Project. The grant will help finance the costs associated with modernization of the public pension system administration and design and implementation of a basic safety net pilot program. The project will support specific objectives of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) toward implementing a modern and financially sound pension system and developing a targeted safety net scheme. It will also lay the institutional groundwork for implementing future initiatives in social protection. The grant will finance investments and technical assistance for: (i) improving administration of the public pension system, and (ii) piloting a modest social safety net scheme as a first step in starting to develop a sustainable approach to safety nets in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the grant will contribute to strengthening program planning and administration in the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD).

World Bank Provides Support to Afghanistan’s Public Pension Program

2009-10-15T18:39:20.000Z

Contacts:

In Kabul: Abdul Raouf Zia (93) 700 280800

azia@worldbank.org

In Washington: Erik Nora (202) 458 4735

enora@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, October 15, 2009 ─ The World Bank today approved a $7.5 million IDA grant to support the Government of Afghanistan’s efforts to improve the administration of its public pension program and pilot a social safety net program as a first step to developing a sustainable approach to safety nets in the country.

The Afghanistan Pension Administration and Safety Net Project (APASNP) is designed to improve the administrative capacity of the public pension system to ensure the effectiveness of a reformed pension scheme for public sector employees. It will also develop a policy framework for safety nets, and on that basis implement a pilot safety net program for needy households, with subsequent proposal for a scaled up national approach.

The main formal social protection programs in Afghanistan include a pension scheme for public sector employees and uniformed servicemen of the military and police as well as pension program for selected families affected by conflict. Other programs consist of humanitarian aid and various, largely uncoordinated, public and nongovernmental programs. These programs, however, remain small both in terms of their reach and spending.

The current spending on the public sector pension program is less than half percent of GDP and reaches 60,000 people. Roughly the same amount is spent on a program which provides benefits to around 310,000 people affected by conflict, including disabled. The main weaknesses of the current social protection programs include lack of well-designed targeting instruments, poor coordination across programs, poor budgeting, and weak institutional and administrative capacity.

“The government’s vision for social protection and safety net is clearly articulated in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS),” said Oleksiy Sluchynsky, World Bank Senior Economist and Project Team Leader. “The needs for social protection benefits and services are much broader and some donors – including the European Commission, USAID and UNDP – have already recognized the need and are providing technical and financial resources towards building capacity in the sector. The World Bank will join hands with other donors to ensure sustainability and efficiency of the government interventions and consistency with the broader public sector reform agenda.”

The project aims to develop capacity in the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) to plan and administer programs in pensions and safety nets and will be implemented over the period of 48 months.

For more information on the Bank’s work in Afghanistan, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org.af

For more project information, please visit: http://go.worldbank.org/JEU50VC1K0

Afghanistan: Pension Administration and Safety Net Project

2009-10-15T18:19:53.000Z

IDA Grant: US$7.5 million equivalent

Project ID: P113421

WASHINGTON, October 15, 2009 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved the following project:

Project Description: The Pension Administration and Safety Net Project aims to improve the administration of the country’s public pension program and pilot a social safety net program as a first step toward developing a sustainable approach to safety nets in the country. The project is designed to improve the administrative capacity of the public pension system to ensure the effectiveness of a reformed pension scheme for public sector employees. It will also develop a policy framework for safety nets, and on that basis implement a pilot safety net program for needy households, with subsequent proposal for a scaled up national approach.

Media Contact

Erik Nora

(202) 458-4735

enora@worldbank.org

For more project information, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P113421

The project Food Crisis Response Project has changed to Closed

2009-10-07T04:00:00.000Z

The project Food Crisis Response Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Food Crisis Response Project for Afghanistan is to enhance wheat and other cereal production by supporting small scale irrigation at the community level through increase of irrigated land area and capacity building of communities to implement and maintain irrigation sector sub projects that address community needs. The credit grant will help finance approximately 500 small scale, community implemented and maintained irrigation schemes in the provinces most affected by the recent food price increases. This program document seeks financing from the Food Policy Crisis Response (FPCPR) Trust Fund for the Second National Solidarity Program being supported by International Development Association (IDA). One of the priorities of the Food Price Crisis Response (FPCR) resources is to reduce the medium term impacts of the food crisis, and irrigation rehabilitation is an effective way of achieving this. Afghanistan currently imports about 20-30 percent of its requirements in a normal year, and can reach 80-90 percent food self-sufficiency in a bumper-harvest year. Therefore, supporting enhancement of local production of wheat will help to ameliorate shortages and help achieve self-sufficiency in normal years. Considering that nearly 70 percent of Afghanistan wheat production comes from irrigated lands where the yields are 2 to 4 time higher than rain-fed areas, wheat productivity enhancement program must focus on irrigation improvement.

The project Emergency Communications Development Project has changed to Closed

2009-10-01T04:00:00.000Z

The project Emergency Communications Development Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Emergency Communications Development Project is to support activities designed to improve delivery of communications services to the government, and to the people of Afghanistan. This will be achieved by: 1) carrying out urgent expansion of the government communications network, to restore critical communications between ministries, and provinces; 2) providing urgently needed policy advice, and capacity building to the Ministry of Communications (MOC) to promote sustainable communications sector performance, and increased private sector participation; and, 3) improving the postal sector, and the delivery of postal services. The outcomes of the Project are expected to be improvements in communications facilities, and delivery, while laying the foundations for sector reforms, and institution building, which would lead to sustainable development of the communications sector. While benefits include improved government communications capacity, sector development, and reform, leading to greater communications access, and increased private investment, there are however risks, such as the technical and financial sustainability of government network (mitigated through design), but as well, general security, and institutional weaknesses.

Afghanistan: Expanding Access to Quality Education

2009-09-29T04:00:00.000Z

Last Updated: Sept 2009

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Thirty years of conflict and political unrest destroyed the Afghan education system. In 2001, after the fall of the Taliban, net enrollment was estimated at 43 percent for boys and a dismal 3 percent for girls. The situation for females was especially dire: they had been forbidden to attend school or teach during Taliban rule. Moreover, there were only about 21,000 (largely under-educated) teachers for a school-age population estimated at more than 5 million—or about 240 students for every marginally trained teacher. In 2001, the international community responded, with IDA financing multiple initiatives. However, great risks have emerged because of the deteriorating security situation, particularly in the south. As a result, many schools have closed again, reversing nascent gains.

Recognizing that education would play a vital role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, IDA launched since 2001 a series of education programs aimed at providing access and quality education to Afghan students at all levels. To accommodate Afghanistan's fragile and fluid situation, these IDA education programs had broad objectives underpinned by principles of participation, coordination among donors and with government agencies, and a focus on females. Specifically, these programs aimed to reconstruct the education sector, by:

- Increasing access to education opportunities in the formal and non-formal systems for under-served groups, especially women and girls;
- Supporting the development of a policy framework and the reform of education management at all levels, in partnership with civil society, NGOs, and the private sector;
- Improving quality of education by training current teachers, developing quality curriculum and textbooks, and encouraging communities to supervise quality education for their children; and
- Introducing modern information technologies for communications in the ministries, including establishing distance-learning facilities for building the capacity of civil servants.

Since 2001, the projects have brought new life to general, technical, and vocational education, and particularly benefited girls. Enrollment in grades 1-12 increased from 3.9 million in 2004 to 6.2 million in 2008. Girls’ enrollment skyrocketed from 839,000 to more than 2.2 million, and boys’ from 2.6 million to 3.9 million—the highest enrollment in the history of Afghanistan.

Highlights:
- Community participation expanded. 5,796 School Management Committees were established, which contributed up to 20 percent in-kind or cash towards school infrastructure and quality of education.

- Teachers trained in large numbers. 32,467 teachers took a comprehensive training module. National and international NGOs have been contracted by the Ministry to train the remaining teachers in Afghanistan (there are about 160,000 teachers total).

- Tertiary enrollment increased. Block grants to all 18 public tertiary-level institutions helped reopen after years of conflict. Tertiary enrollment increased from 23,000 in 2002 to almost 40,000 in 2005, including 8,000 females. Female enrollment amounted to 8,000 or 22 percent of this total, after a five-year ban on girls’ education. Tertiary faculty increased by 25 percent to 1,978.

- New schools built. 58 schools (mainly for girls) were rehabilitated or constructed in under-served areas.

- Technical and vocational training established. The project launched the Afghanistan Skills Development Program to promote standard technical and vocational education by establishing a National Qualification Framework. Under the related National Institute of Management and Administration in Kabul there are currently 2,700 enrolled.

- Innovations in delivery piloted. The project contracted out to NGOs to deliver education services and empower the community in five provinces.

- Government reform advanced. The five-year National Education Strategic Plan was developed which highlights eight national priority programs. Government is now encouraging decentralized school management through provinces, districts, and communities, and

- First-ever IT capacity built. The first Education Management Information System was developed to help the Ministry in policy, monitoring, and evaluation.

IDA was at the forefront of post-conflict financing in Afghanistan, helping coordinate donors and fast-track support for new programs in a vulnerable state, having financed $140 million in five complimentary education programs since 2001.

The first three projects were relatively small, entirely financed by IDA, and served as pilots: Emergency Education Rehabilitation and Development (2002-2006, US$15 million), Education Quality Improvement Program (2004-2009, US$35 million), and Strengthening Higher Education Program (2005-2010, US$40 million). IDA contributed US$30 million to the Second Education Quality Improvement Program (2008-2012), which has a total project cost of $186.7 million. To the Afghanistan Skills Development Project (2008-2013), IDA contributed US$20 million of the total project cost of US$36 million.

The Second Education Quality Improvement Program benefited from the partnership of the United States Agency for International Development (US$22 million) and the Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund (US$134.7 million). Partners for the Afghanistan Skills Development Project include USAID (US$6 million), Norway (US$6 million), and the Afghanistan Government itself.

The ongoing follow-up project, the Second Education Quality Improvement Program, covers the entire education sector from primary to tertiary. Its aim is to scale up methods that were tested during the Emergency Education project. Moreover, the mechanism of giving grants to communities has been scaled up to all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. A remaining challenge is to continue to involve community elders to open more previously closed school in the south, and engage communities to protect the students, teachers, and schools.

Emergency Education Rehabilitation and Development (2002-2006, US$15 million)
Project documents

Education Quality Improvement Program (2004-2009, US$35 million)
Project documents

Strengthening Higher Education Program (2005-2010, US$40 million)
Project documents

Second Education Quality Improvement Program (2008-2012)
Project documents

Afghanistan Skills Development Project (2008-2013)
Project documents

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

Afghanistan: Better Communications for a Better Future

2009-09-29T04:00:00.000Z

Last Updated: Sept 2009

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Emerging from three decades of conflict and instability in 2002, Afghanistan barely had a functioning communications network. Services were available to less than one percent of the country’s population. The Ministry of Communications operated services in just five major cities, with more than 60 percent of the 57,000 functioning lines in a single city, the capital Kabul. Moreover, the country had little or no access to the Internet. Given the state of communications infrastructure, the Government’s ability to govern was severely limited.

The IDA-financed Emergency Communications Development Project was launched in 2003 to improve delivery of communications services to the Government and people of Afghanistan. It aimed to: expand the government communications network, restore critical communications between ministries and provinces, and provide urgently needed policy advice to the Ministry of Communications.

Unprecedented progress revitalized the country’s communications. Telephone access increased from less than 1 percent to 32 percent of the population. The number of fixed and mobile telecommunication subscribers increased from 57,000 in 2002 to almost 10 million in 2009, while costs have plummeted by 95 percent—from $2/min to $0.10/min.

Highlights:
- Government communications expanded. All provinces were connected on the Government Communications Network, enabling voice and data transfer, and videoconferencing between Kabul and the provincial capitals.

- Sector revenue and employment grew exponentially. The telecommunications sector now contributes an estimated $75 million to government revenues and directly or indirectly employs more than 60,000 people.

- Infrastructure built. An Earth Satellite Station at Mahtab-Qala was installed on the outskirts of Kabul. A new radio spectrum monitoring system became operational.

- Competition blossomed. From a single operator in 2002, Afghanistan’s competitive telecommunications market grew to encompass five private mobile operators, a unified service provider, and six operational Internet service providers.

- Prices became accessible for the typical Afghan. Prices for mobile telephony have dropped considerably, making services more affordable for more Afghan people. In 2002, it cost about US$400 to purchase a mobile phone and US$2 for every minute of talk time. Today, an Afghan can purchase a mobile phone for less than US$50 and spends less than 10 cents per minute of talk time. Moreover, an agreement with Pakistan to route calls overland has lowered costs and increased traffic, and

- Reform advanced. Afghan Telecom has been corporatized and a separate regulatory agency established.

The total project cost was financed by a US$22 million IDA credit. An additional US$6.1 million came from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. IDA support was catalytic in establishing a sound policy, legal, and regulatory framework for a sector that is experiencing considerable private-sector investment—up to $1 billion by some measures. IDA leveraged the World Bank Group’s experience in scaling up private wireless operators in post-conflict environments.

The telecommunications sector is dynamic and growing in Afghanistan, and benefits from the cooperation of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund and more than 30 international partners.

Despite impressive developments, gaps remain. There has been explosive growth in telephony services, but much work remains to be done to develop Internet services. Similarly, while the country has developed considerable urban connectivity, much work is required to extend these gains further into rural and remote areas.

Emergency Communications Development Project
Project documents

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

Afghanistan - Rural Enterprise Development Program Project : environmental and social management framework

2009-09-23T04:00:00.000Z

The developmental goal of the Rural Enterprise Development Program Project is to improve employment and income of men and women in the rural areas of Afghanistan, and sustainability of targeted local enterprises. Negative measures include: water contamination and usage; spoil disposal; loss of top soil; noise from vehicles, plants and equipment; loss, damage or disruption of wildlife; and vegetation losses. Mitigation measures include: a) all construction machinery and equipment will be stationed in designated areas to prevent vegetation compaction; b) all removed trees will be replanted according to 're-plantation program'; c) industrial noise standards will be enforced to protect workers and residents from severe noise impacts; d) all spoils and wastes will be disposed of as per approved disposal plans in wastelands, in consultation with communities; e) all chemicals will be stored in safe warehouses, allowing no spills on soils; and f) careful stacking of top soil and its re-application after work completion.

Afghanistan - Pension Administration and Safety Net Project

2009-09-23T04:00:00.000Z

‘CLIMATE SMART’ WORLD WITHIN REACH, SAYS WORLD BANK

2009-09-15T21:45:00.000Z

Contact
Erik Nora
(202) 458-4735
enora@worldbank.org

South Asian Countries Face Daunting Climate-Related Development Challenges

WASHINGTON, September 15, 2009 – If developed countries act now, a ‘climate-smart’ world is feasible, and the costs for getting there will be high but still manageable, says a new World Bank report released today. High-income countries also need to act quickly to reduce their carbon footprints and boost development of alternative energy sources to help tackle the problem of climate change.

World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change, released in advance of the December meetings on climate change in Copenhagen, says that advanced countries, which produced most of the greenhouse gas emissions of the past, must act to shape our climate future. Developing countries can shift to lower-carbon paths while promoting development and reducing poverty, but this depends on financial and technical assistance from high-income countries. A key way to do this is by ramping up funding for mitigation in developing countries, where most future growth in emissions will occur.

“The countries of the world must act now, act together and act differently on climate change,” said World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick. "Developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change – a crisis that is not of their making and for which they are the least prepared. For that reason, an equitable deal in Copenhagen is vitally important.”

Countries need to act now because today’s decisions determine both the climate of tomorrow and the choices that shape the future. Countries need to act together because no one nation can take on the interconnected challenges posed by climate change, and global cooperation is needed to improve energy efficiencies and develop new technologies. Countries need to act differently, because we cannot plan for the future based on the climate of the past.

Developing countries will bear most of the costs of the damage from climate change. Many people in developing countries live in physically exposed locations and economically precarious conditions, and their financial and institutional capacity to adapt is limited, says the report. Already, policymakers in some developing countries note that an increasing amount of their development budget is being diverted to cope with weather-related emergencies.

Geography coupled with high levels of poverty and population density make countries in the South Asia region particularly vulnerable to climate change. The report says that that global warming of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures — the minimum the world is likely to experience — could result in permanent reductions in GDP of 4 to 5 percent for South Asia.

The region’s water resources are likely to be affected by climate change, through its effect on the monsoon, which provides 70 percent of annual precipitation in a four-month period, and on the melting of Himalayan glaciers, particularly in the western end of the range.

Rising sea levels are also of important concern in South Asia, which has long and densely populated coastlines, agricultural plains threatened by saltwater intrusion, and many low-lying islands. In more severe climate-change scenarios, rising seas would submerge much of the Maldives and inundate 18 percent of Bangladesh’s land.

Agricultural productivity is one of many factors driving the greater vulnerability of developing countries. Extrapolating from past year- to- year variations in climate and agricultural outcomes, yields of major crops in India are projected to decline by 4.5 to 9 percent within the next three decades, even allowing for short- term adaptations. The report says the implications of such climate change for poverty — and GDP — could be enormous given projected population growth and high dependence of livelihoods on rain-fed agriculture in the South Asia region.

At the same time, the report notes that 1.6 billion people in the developing world lack access to electricity. In India alone, more than 400 million people do not have electricity. Those developing countries—whose average per capita emissions are a fraction of those of high-income countries—need massive expansions in energy, transport, urban systems, and agricultural production. Increasing access to energy and other services using high-carbon technologies will produce more greenhouse gases, hence more climate change.

India faces tremendous challenges in substantially altering its emissions path given its relatively efficient economy and limited endowment of clean energy resources and for carbon storage sites, the report says. India relies heavily on coal, which accounts for 53 percent of its commercial energy demand. Large potential exists, however, for improving energy efficiency and reducing transmission and distribution losses.

The report finds, however, that existing low-carbon technologies and best practices could reduce energy consumption significantly, saving money. For example, the report notes that it is possible to cut energy consumption in industry and the power sector by 20–30 percent, helping reduce carbon footprints without sacrificing growth. In addition, many changes required to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases also deliver significant benefits in environmental sustainability, public health, energy security, and financial savings. Avoided deforestation, for instance, preserves watersheds and protects biodiversity, while forests can effectively serve as a carbon sink.

With costs of renewable energy declining over the past two decades, wind, geothermal, and hydro power are already or nearly cost- competitive with fossil fuels, the report says. Thanks to innovation and technology diffusion, wind is now powering the first stages of what could become an energy revolution. And although most installed wind capacity is in Europe and the United States, the pattern is shifting. In 2008, India and China each installed more wind capacity than any other country except the United States and together they host nearly 20 percent of the world’s capacity.

Solving the climate problem requires a transformation of the world’s energy systems in the coming decades. Research and Development investments on the order of US$100 - $700 billion annually will be needed—a major increase from the modest $13 billion a year of public funds and $40 billion to $60 billion a year of private funds currently invested.

Developing countries, particularly the poorest and most exposed, will need assistance in adapting to the changing climate. Bangladesh, for example, is among the world’s most exposed countries to rising sea levels. Bangladesh is already doing much to reduce the vulnerability of its population. It has invested in a highly effective community-based early warning system for cyclones and a flood forecasting and a response program drawing on local and international expertise. But the scope of possible adaptation is limited by resources — its annual per capita income is $450.

Climate finance must be greatly expanded, since current funding levels fall far short of foreseeable needs. Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), managed by the World Bank and implemented jointly with regional developing banks, offer one opportunity for leveraging support from advanced countries, since these funds can buy-down the costs of low-carbon technologies in developing countries.

“Developing countries face 75-80 percent of the potential damage from climate change. They urgently need help to prepare for drought, floods, and rising sea levels. They also need to intensify agricultural productivity, contain malnutrition and disease, and build climate-resilient infrastructure,” said Justin Lin, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President, Development Economics.

The current financial crisis cannot be an excuse to put climate on the back burner, the report warns. While financial crises may cause serious hardship and reduce growth over the short- to medium-term, they rarely last more than a few years. The threat of a warming climate is far more severe and long-lasting.

The earth’s warming climate is making the challenge of development more complicated, even as one in four people still live on less than $1.25 a day, and over a billion people do not have sufficient food to meet their daily basic nutritional needs.

“Grappling with climate shocks that are already hampering development will not be easy. But promising new energy technologies can vastly reduce future greenhouse gas emissions and prevent catastrophic climate change. We also need to manage our farms, forests, and water resources to ensure a sustainable future,” said Rosina Bierbaum, WDR co-director and Dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

“The good news is that a climate-smart world is within reach if we work together now to overcome inertia, keep costs down, and modify our energy, food, and risk management systems to ensure a safer future for everybody,” said Marianne Fay, WDR co-director and Chief Economist for Sustainable Development at the World Bank.

“There are real opportunities to shape our climate future for an inclusive and sustainable globalization, but we need a new momentum for concerted action on climate issues before it is too late,” said Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Group President.

The World Bank Group’s "Strategic Framework for Development and Climate Change" puts emphasis on including mitigation and adaptation initiatives in its lending, while recognizing that developing countries need to encourage economic growth and reduce poverty.

The number of World Bank-financed studies that help client countries plan and implement low-carbon growth strategies are also growing, and the Bank Group’s energy financing is increasingly turning towards renewable energies and energy efficiency. Over the past three years, approximately two-thirds of the Bank Group’s total energy financing was in the area of non-fossil fuels whereas around one-third was for fossil fuels, of which half was for natural gas.

Access the report: http://www.worldbank.org/wdr2010
The World Bank’s climate change blog is at: http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange

Afghanistan: Improving Customs for a Stronger Government

2009-09-13T18:17:16.000Z

Last Updated: Sept 2009

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Afghanistan is a poor, landlocked country at the crossroads between east and west. As it emerges from a difficult generation defined by conflict and foreign intervention, this country of about 30 million remains profoundly dependent on international aid. Afghanistan’s domestic-revenue-to-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world—in 2007, it was just 7 percent. By itself, therefore, the Government can provide few services, which limits its capacity to grow its authority and legitimacy throughout the country. Not surprisingly, one of the Government’s highest priorities is to generate more revenue. Traditionally, a substantial lost opportunity has been in customs collections. In 2007, these ports of entry accounted for about 55 percent of total Government revenue, but were widely considered to be rife with corruption and notoriously ineffective.

The IDA-financed Emergency Customs Modernization and Trade Facilitation Project was launched in 2004 to modernize the customs administration by improving its transparency and professionalism, and thereby increase revenue collection and decrease wait times. The aim was to computerize the customs process at the country’s four major border crossings for a wide variety of essential goods—wheat, rice, sugar, tea, vegetable oil, cement, scrap iron, and motor vehicles—which are all imported into Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s customs revenues soared from US$50 million in 2004 to more than US$399 million in 2008, an increase of more than 700 percent in just five years.

Highlights:
- System improvements. The introduction of an Automated System for Customs Data at these ports of entry has minimized the human interface in customs transactions. This has tightened controls, reduced corruption, and increased speed, and

- Time is money. The waiting time for trucks at the major border crossings has also decreased. For example, at the eastern border with Pakistan at Torkham, over 90 percent of trucks are now cleared in less than 1.5 hours, down from an average of 18 hours in 2003. At the Kabul Inland Clearance Depot, the average waiting time for trucks is a quarter of what it used to be before computerization.

The Emergency Customs Modernization and Trade Facilitation Project was launched in 2004 with an IDA contribution of US$31.2 million. In addition, IDA provided extra financing US$6.8 million to extend computerization to additional customs check posts at all the trade corridors in the country.

During the past five years, international donors have come together to support the Afghanistan Government’s goals. An Informal Customs Network is coordinating the work. This is made up of the Border Management Task Force of the United States, the US Agency for International Development, the European Commission, the Canadian Government, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, and the World Bank Group. Each has separate responsibilities to avoid duplication and maximize results. The World Bank Group has focused on automation, legal, HR, and infrastructure development.

A new US$36.5 million project is being prepared to consolidate the customs modernization, specifically focused on anticorruption. The aim is to ensure customs performance that is affordable, accessible, and of adequate quality.

Emergency Customs Modernization and Trade Facilitation Project, 2004-2009
Project documents

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

Afghanistan: New Irrigation Jumpstarts Farming...and Incomes

2009-09-13T18:15:09.000Z

Last Updated: Sept 2009

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- Our Work in Afghanistan

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After three decades of war and political upheavals, Afghanistan’s agricultural sector was in shambles. Whereas the vast majority of Afghans depend on agriculture for a living, only about 10 percent of the country’s harsh and arid terrain is arable. Nearly all of it requires irrigation. What is worse, most of the country’s basic irrigation infrastructure was damaged during the conflict years, with only about one-third still intact. Even where systems were operational, water supplies were unreliable, with systems operating at a mere 25 percent efficiency compared to the norm for irrigation efficiency in the region of 40 to 60 percent. As a result, the country and its rural inhabitants were caught in a vicious cycle — productivity and incomes remained low, while food insecurity and rural poverty loomed large. In recent years, the situation has grown worse due to frequent droughts.

The IDA-financed Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project was launched in 2004 to rehabilitate and restore Afghanistan’s irrigation systems. The project focused on the country’s six major river basins in the regions of Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif. Communities identified the key constraints then appointed traditional water managers, or mirabs, to distribute the water equitably in accordance with water shares that farmers had enjoyed in the past. Farmers provided in-kind labor as a way to earn income. Finally, once the irrigation systems were rehabilitated, farmers and mirabs were trained to operate and maintain them.

Despite numerous challenges, particularly the lack of security and the government’s low capacity, the project helped rehabilitate multiple irrigation systems, benefiting over 600,000 households in all 34 provinces of the country. The IDA project has introduced innovative way of supervising schemes in insecure areas by, for example, using geo-referenced photos and videos to monitor and report progress.

Highlights:
- Regular water boosted yields. Irrigation boosted yields of staple crops of wheat, maize, and rice, as well as of onions, melons, and watermelons.

- Government capacity increased. The project also made a substantial contribution to building capacity within Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Water through hands-on training, particularly in identifying, designing, preparing, and implementing irrigation rehabilitation schemes.

- Land rehabilitated by rehabilitated facilities. Irrigation facilities serving 618,000 hectares of irrigated areas have been rehabilitated. This has restored irrigation supplies to a previously dry area of 122,000 hectares.

- Rehab schemes spread countrywide. So far rehabilitation of 600 small, medium, and large irrigation schemes has been completed in various parts of the country.

- Hydro stations installed. So far 98 hydrological stations have been installed in different locations on the 5 main river basins.

The Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project was launched in 2004 with an IDA contribution of US$40 million. Three additional IDA grants amounting to a total of US$86.5 million have subsequently supported the continuation of the project. Impressed by project achievements, the Government of Afghanistan contributed another US$6.0 million to expand the project.

Additional IDA financing of US$33.5 million, approved in May 2009, will help rehabilitate 85 medium and 8 large irrigation schemes. It will also expand the country’s hydro-meteorological facilities to improve the planning, management, and development of the country’s water resources. Moreover, it aims to equip the Government to forecast floods and droughts better.

Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (2003-11)
Project documents | Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

The project Afg Strengthening Institutions DPG has changed to Closed

2009-09-10T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afg Strengthening Institutions DPG has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Strengthening Institutions Development Policy Grant (DPG) Program supports the implementation of the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) medium-term development strategy within the context of a satisfactory macroeconomic framework. The DPG will be a stand-alone operation in response to an increased level of uncertainty in Afghanistan that could impact the Government's commitment to a multi-year reform program. Presidential elections are planned for August 2009, to be followed by parliamentary elections in 2010. The DPG will follow broadly the core development objectives of the Programmatic Support for Institution Building (PSIB) series: (i) improve fiscal policy and planning, and public financial management, and (ii) strengthen public administration reform, including sub-national administration. The DPG will continue supporting these two objectives, while adding a third one: (iii) increase transparency and accountability in the management of public finances. This objective contributes to the Government's efforts to address weak governance and corruption. The purpose of the DPG is to secure sound macroeconomic management and fiduciary standards for all resources channeled through the Afghan core budget including funds from the World Bank and the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). The DPG is aiming at providing synergies to other parts of the Afghanistan portfolio, including investment projects, analytical work, and the ARTF administration.

Afghanistan: Building On Basics In Health Care

2009-09-03T04:00:00.000Z

Last Updated: June 2009

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- What is IDA?
- Our Work in Afghanistan

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- Borrowing History
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By the time the Taliban regime fell in 2001, Afghanistan had some of the world’s worst health indicators. The under-five mortality rate was estimated to be 256 per 1,000 live births, compared to 92 per 1,000 for the South Asia region. Afghanistan needed to improve its primary health care delivery to decrease its child and maternal mortality rates, particularly in rural areas. Without a viable primary care system, the country was also vulnerable to emergent diseases such as HIV/AIDS and avian influenza that threatened public health.

Building on the work of local and international NGOs already providing some 80 percent of health services at the time the Taliban were overthrown, the Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project financed implementation of the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) in 11 provinces, in 8 through contracts between the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and 8 NGOs and in 3 through direct service delivery by the Ministry of Public Health. To address the shortage of female health workers in remote areas, the project supported the Community Midwifery Education program. In addition volunteer community health workers were trained, new health centers opened, and the quality of care improved. A third party monitored performance. Based on successful results, supplementary financing was provided in early 2006 and additional financing in early 2008.

To meet emergent public health risks, IDA also financed the Afghanistan HIV/AIDS Preventive project. The project targets the epidemic by scaling up prevention programs for people engaged in high-risk behaviors. It also builds national capacity to inform the public at large about how to avoid HIV infection, strengthens surveillance of HIV incidence, maps and estimate the size of groups engaged in high-risk behavior, and supports information and advocacy campaigns to reduce the social stigma associated with the disease. MoPH has signed 11 contracts with national and international organizations to achieve these objectives.

IDA also financed the Avian Influenza Control and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response Project to keep bird flu from spreading to humans by developing and implementing HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) prevention and eradication activities. The project’s Animal Health Component is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock and its Human Health component is managed by MoPH. Their efforts are supported by a national public information campaign to raise awareness.

Millions of people in rural Afghanistan now have access to primary health care for the first time, as national coverage rates rose from 9 percent of the general population in 2003 to 85 percent in 2008.

Highlights:
- A 2006 study conducted by Johns Hopkins University indicates a 26 percent drop in under-five mortality since 2002.

- In the 11 project provinces, the number of health facilities has nearly tripled from 148 to 421.

- Health service utilization had increased among project area populations from a rate of 0.3 consultations per capita annually at the outset to 1.33 per capita by year’s end 2008.

- Health care for expectant mothers expanded, with the number of deliveries assisted in facility by trained health workers jumping from 6 percent to 23 percent. The number of pregnant women who received at least one prenatal care visit rose from 8,500 in 2003 to 188,670 in 2008. More generally, third-party assessments show that females are more likely than males to use program services, an encouraging sign that gender barriers are not closing off access and that hiring women medical staff and training women as community health workers was having an impact.

- Indicators from the Health Information Management System (HMIS) show signs of progress in child health, with DPT3 vaccination rates for one-year-olds, for instance, increasing from 25 percent in 2003 to 98 percent by the end of 2008.

- The Basic Package of Health Services covered 85 percent of Afghanistan’s 30 million people by year’s end 2008.

- Third-party evaluations show remarkable improvement in health center staffing, equipment, and supply stocks. Absenteeism is virtually unheard of, contrasting markedly with absentee rates of up to 40 percent among public sector doctors elsewhere in South Asia.

- Despite insecurity in some project provinces (Farah, Helmand and Badghis), participating NGOs maintained and even expanded health services. The number of outpatient visits more than tripled between 2003 and 2008 in all three provinces.

- Around 20,000 community health workers—half of them women—have been trained and deployed throughout the country, increasing access to family planning and boosting childhood vaccinations.

- The number of facilities with trained female health workers rose from 25 percent before the project to 85 percent today.

- The TB detection rate increased more than sevenfold from less than 10 percent to almost 72 percent, based on the World Health Organization estimate of an annual sputum-positive incidence of 73 per 100,000.

- By providing virtually free health services, the project widened access to preventive and curative care, reducing the financial shocks from illness that frequently push poor families deeper into poverty.

Some $120 million has been provided in grant financing since 2003, a substantial sum given that estimated total Afghan public sector health care expenditure was $277.7 million in 2008, with about 90 percent coming from external sources.

Beyond direct financial support, IDA worked to strengthen the Ministry of Public Health’s stewardship of the sector, particularly in the monitoring and evaluation of contract management and coordination with its partners. IDA encouraged other donors (for example, the European Community and USAID) to support such efforts.

The Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project ended June 30, 2009. In March 2009 the IDA Board approved a new project—Strengthening Health Activities for the Rural Poor (SHARP—with funding of US$30 million for a period of 45 months. SHARP is designed to improve the health and nutritional status of Afghans, focusing especially on women and children and underserved areas of the country. The project supports the government’s Health and Nutrition Sector Strategy, which is the national blueprint for health during 2008–13. Building on the foundation of the program it succeeds, SHARP will finance provision of the Basic Package of Health Services in 11 provinces through MoPH contracts with national and international NGOs in 8 of the provinces and direct delivery of services by the ministry in the remaining 3. To support monitoring and evaluation of service delivery, the project will also engage a third-party agency to conduct annual scorecards for primary health care facilities and hospitals. Lastly, SHARP plans to introduce an innovative results-based financing (RBF) mechanism to extend health center coverage and improve service quality, especially for women and children. Despite the 17 percent increase in institutional deliveries, the number of pregnant women who give birth at a health facility remains low (23 percent), and innovative approaches (like RBF) are needed to persuade communities to take full advantage of available health services.

Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project (2003–09)

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

The project Urban Waste Management has changed to Dropped

2009-09-01T04:00:00.000Z

The project Urban Waste Management has changed to Dropped. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Afghanistan: Promoting Community-Based Development

2009-08-28T04:00:00.000Z

Last Updated: July 2009

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

More on Afghanistan:
- Borrowing History
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During a post-conflict phase in which rapid delivery of a "peace dividend" is critical to establish or maintain the credibility of the new government, the challenge is to

- Generate employment and rehabilitate infrastructure in rural areas devastated by severe drought and two decades of conflict, and

- Strengthen local governance to foster rule of law.

- The National Solidarity Program (NSP) is a massive effort by the government to reach rural communities across Afghanistan and address their needs using participatory involvement.

- Implemented by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development through an extensive network of Facilitating Partner organizations (mostly NGOs), the NSP was originally a component of the IDA-financed Emergency Community Empowerment & Public Works Project launched in 2002. It then became a national priority program under Afghanistan's development framework and has grown into the government's flagship rural development program.

- Elected village-level Community Development Councils (CDCs), in which women play a key role, reach consensus on development priorities, develop investment proposals and use grants and local labor to meet local needs.

About 17 million rural people in all 34 of Afghanistan's provinces have benefited from improved water and roads and from other small infrastructure projects.

Highlights:
- As of August 8, 2009, nearly 22,000 CDCs had been elected and over 20,000 had received grants for over 50,000 community projects, of which approximately 31,000 are complete.

- New roads and bridges link once isolated villages to each other and markets; irrigation is increasing cultivated area and improving agricultural yields; energy from grid extensions and renewable resources such as hydro and solar power reaches villages for the first time in history; village water pumps save women and children numerous hours of daily labor; and new schools give thousands of children—boys and girls alike—the opportunity for basic education.

- Economic analysis of sample NSP subprojects shows overall economic rates of return of 18.9 percent across four sampled sectors.

- Investments in rural infrastructure have boosted agriculture, promoted small-enterprise development, and opened access to price information, education, health care and communications.

- More than 80 percent of labor for these efforts comes from the communities themselves, generating wages for the poor and keeping costs low. Community involvement carries the added bonus of creating stronger ownership incentives to provide appropriate maintenance.

- Social mobilization has increased trust in government, empowered people including women, strengthened democratic culture at the community level, built social cohesion and promoted conflict resolution.

- The NSP was envisioned by the new Afghan leadership after the fall of the Taliban. To help put it into action, IDA drew on its experience designing successful community-driven development projects elsewhere such as the Kecamatan program in Indonesia.

- An initial IDA grant (under the IDA Emergency Community Empowerment & Public Works Project) funded a US$27 million community empowerment component that paved the way for the NSP.

- Since then, the NSP has received an additional US$940 million from IDA financing (38 percent), the World Bank–administered Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (55 percent), and other bilateral donors.

- CDCs need to be established in 9,000 uncovered villages to ensure national coverage by NSP. This poses a challenge since approximately half of these villages are in less secure areas. The program will also need significantly more financing to achieve full coverage.

- Over 6,000 communities have fully utilized their first round of NSP block grants. It is important for the Government of Afghanistan to continue engaging these communities to avoid eroding the trust built through the NSP thus far. The program’s next phase is being designed and will include another round of block grants to communities as well as further capacity building to make CDCs sustainable in the long run.

Community Based Development , Afghanistan: www.nspafghanistan.org

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

Afghanistan: Building a Vibrant Microfinance Sector

2009-08-28T04:00:00.000Z

Last Updated: July 2009

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

More on Afghanistan:
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In 2002, Afghanistan’s banking sector had completely collapsed and no financial service providers were operational outside the informal sector. Microfinance services were in great demand by Afghans seeking access to credit to improve their livelihoods and transition from dependence on humanitarian assistance to economic independence.

Project development followed identification of microfinance as a key to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. A Microfinance Investment and Support Facility (MISFA) was set up in 2003 to provide funds, capacity building and training to a wide range of retail financial intermediaries that serve the poor. Since its establishment, MISFA has played an advocacy role with Da Afghanistan Bank (which regulates the financial sector), funders and other stakeholders. The overall objective of MISFA is to provide flexible and high-quality support to establish a healthy microfinance sector. While the World Bank was the lead agency for creating MISFA, with Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) as key advisor, all other donors interested in funding microfinance in Afghanistan were invited and encouraged to join as cofunders.

More than a million loans—worth $632 million—have been disbursed in 26 provinces with a 94 percent repayment record.

Highlights:
- Many poor Afghans have accessed financial services for the first time.
- Within four years of launching the program, MISFA had expanded its partnerships from 4 microfinance institutions (MFIs) to 15 MFIs and one bank, providing microfinance services across the country through nearly 300 branches in 26 of 34 provinces. In the process, MISFA’s role expanded from being a conduit for the Afghan government and international donors to supply funding and technical assistance to MFIs, to becoming the recognized umbrella body responsible for building strong microlending institutions moving toward a sustainable sector operating without subsidies.
- By May 2009, the sector had 439,203 active clients, with $102.4 million in outstanding loans, and has mobilized $16 million in savings by poor people. Between March 2008 and March 2009, US$15.1 million in loans were disbursed and more than 1,100 active clients added per month.
- MFIs have been steadily expanding their services to rural areas—29 percent of total active borrowers are now in villages—and other harder-to-reach communities, including those in the volatile southern region.
- At the end of May 2009, women—considered a marginalized group in Afghanistan—comprised 60 percent of all clients throughout the country. Case studies have shown that the availability of microfinance services not only increased household incomes, it also contributed to women's empowerment, particularly in the public sphere. Steps have been taken to ensure that services provided are innovative, demand-driven and inclusive.
- The development of Afghan capacity to manage and operate the microfinance sector is proceeding apace. As of May 2009, a total of 4,471 Afghans—37 percent women—were employed in the sector, occupying over 90 percent of professional and 50 percent of management positions.
- In four years, MFIs have moved from receiving primarily grants to receiving primarily loans. Three out of MISFA’s partners have achieved operational surpluses, and another three are progressing toward this benchmark. While most MFIs were initially set up by international NGOs, by 2008 they had transformed into nonprofit companies—permanent institutions functioning under the laws of Afghanistan.

IDA administers the ARTF through which $183.3 million has been contributed by eight different donors since 2003.

Besides drawing on pooled ARTF funds, the project has also independently leveraged almost US$30 million from various donor organizations, as well as an additional US$30 million funding facility through IDA.

The immediate task is to provide the funding and other support necessary to strengthen the sector. The main focus is to build robust financial institutions capable of expanding outreach, while also emphasizing the importance of achieving long-lasting positive impact through product diversification and innovation. The vision is formation of a well-established sector of viable institutions providing a broad range of financial services from savings, to insurance, to housing loans, while also using technology such as mobile telephone networks to increase the client base and improve efficiency. Steps are already under way to widen the range of financial products (including Islamic loan products) to meet demand, diversify sources of microfinance funding to include commercial banks, and expand small business lending by commercial banks and microfinance institutions.

Microfinance Investment and Support Facility, Afghanistan: http://www.misfa.org.af/

Afghanistan - Rural Enterprise Development Program Project

2009-08-26T04:00:00.000Z

Infection management and environment plan

2009-08-11T04:00:00.000Z

The objective of the Strengthening Health Activities for the Rural Poor (SHARP) project in Afghanistan is to support the government in achieving the health and nutrition sector strategy (HNSS) goal to "contribute to improving the health and nutritional status of the people of Afghanistan, with a greater focus on women and children and under-served areas of the country". Major environmental issues include the lack of segregation of infectious waste and sharps, improper disposal, and improper wastewater management in those facilities fortunate enough to have a functioning water supply. Although waste minimization measures are possible, segregation of waste at the point of generation is the most critical and strategic intervention. In limited-resource settings, chemical disinfectants for decontamination of infectious waste may be appropriate and cost-effective. Hence, the project will address: (a) removal of sharps and segregation of general waste from infectious and hazardous waste; (b) destruction of sharps or their placement in appropriate containers; and (c) deep burial. This approach will be implemented through training, development of an institutional framework, community participation, and monitoring.

Afghanistan’s Care of Afghan Family won $40,000 through South Asia Region Development Marketplace

2009-08-06T06:53:39.000Z

In Dari | In Pashto

Contact in Kabul:
Abdul Raouf Zia (93) 700 280 800
Azia@worldbank.org

Dhaka, August 5, 2009 ─ Twenty-one civil society organizations from across South Asia won grants today from a $840,000 award pool funded by the South Asia Region Development Marketplace (DM). The winners received up to $40,000 each to implement innovative ideas on how to improve nutrition in their respective countries. Care of Afghan Families (CAF), from Afghanistan was one of the winners.

"Undernutrition is one of the most challenging issues facing South Asia," said Isabel Guerrero, World Bank’s Vice President, South Asia Region, at the opening ceremony today in Dhaka. "Poor nutrition robs a child of a chance to succeed and live a healthy, productive life. And yet, an investment in nutrition is one of the social policy interventions that has the highest impact for each dollar spent, in improving this child’s future."

Innovative ideas, such as a proposal from Care of Afghan Families called Baby Friendly Village, to improve the nutrition status of young children through focus not just on their mothers, but also on other family and village members was one of the winners.

"This award means the recognition of innovative ideas for tackling malnutrition programs. A regional platform like the DM is helping NGOs bring out innovative ideas, share experiences and learn from each other," said Bashir Ahmad Hamid, Organizational Development Director of CAF.

With the funds awarded today, the winners will have up to 18 months to carry out and implement their innovative projects.

India was the most represented country among winners, with 9 out of the 21 winning proposals. Bangladesh and Nepal tied in second place with four winners each. Pakistan followed with two winners. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan had one winning proposal each.

Titled "Family and Community Approaches to Improve Infant and Young Child Nutrition." the competition was designed to identify some of the most innovative ideas to improve nutrition, focusing especially on children under two years of age and pregnant women. It drew nearly 1000 applications from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and through a vigorous assessment process by international development experts, the applicants were narrowed down to 60 finalists, who showcased their ideas today in Dhaka.

"All of the finalists gathered here today are winners," said Ms. Guerrero, during her opening remarks, emphasizing that the greatest outcome of the Development Marketplace is precisely the learning that comes from the exchange of ideas and experiences between all the participants. Dr. A F M Ruhal Haque, Bangladesh’s Minister for Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the opening ceremony extending a warm welcome to all participants and praising the initiative. Mr. Abul Maal Muhit, Bangladesh’s Miniser for Finance handed over the certificates to winners during the closing ceremony.

A Bangladeshi proposal to promote nutritional status of malnourished children of commercial sex workers and families of people living with HIV/AIDS won the People’s Choice Award, following popular voting by visitors who attended the Development Marketplace today in Dhaka.

The South Asia Regional Development Marketplace was sponsored by UNICEF, World Food Programme, PepsiCo, the Micronutrient Initiative (MI), GTZ (Germany), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

For more information about the South Asia development Marketplace, visit: www.worldbank.org/nutritiondm2009

For more information about the World Bank’s work in South Asia, please visit http://www.worldbank.org/sar

World Bank Grant Competition Supports Innovative Approaches to Address Undernutrition in South Asia

2009-08-02T09:10:53.000Z

Contacts:

In Dhaka: Mehrin A. Mahbub (880-2) 8159001-28 Ext. 4251

mmahbub@worldbank.org

In Washington: Benjamin Crow (202) 473 5105

bcrow@worldbank.org

Dhaka, August 2, 2009 ─ Civil society organizations from across South Asia will gather in Dhaka this week to take part in a grant competition – the Development Marketplace (DM) – where they will display some of the best and most innovative ideas on how to improve nutrition in the region. The competition is hosted by the World Bank and is designed to showcase and fund such innovative approaches, focusing especially on children under two years of age and pregnant women.

Titled “Family and Community Approaches to Improve Infant and Young Child Nutrition,” the DM event will bring together 60 civil society organizations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka who will compete for 20 grants of up to US$40,000 each to implement their ideas.

“The scale of the undernutrition problem in South Asia is alarming,” said Isabel M. Guerrero, World Bank Vice President for the South Asia region. “Around 45 percent of South Asian children are undernourished, which is 60 percent higher than the undernutrition rate of Sub-Saharan Africa. We have all seen the devastating effect of poor nutrition. It robs a child of a chance to succeed and live a healthy, productive life and contribute to national development. We hope this Development Marketplace initiative will raise awareness of the problem and arm people with knowledge and information that can help transform nutrition programs.”

This Development Marketplace was launched in February 2009 by reaching out to communities across South Asia seeking proposals for local, small-scale projects with the potential to be scaled up and replicated. In just over three months, almost 1,000 civil society organizations from across the region submitted proposals.

“This DM event will showcase innovative approaches that can be incorporated into local and national nutrition strategies and programming,” said Andrea Vermehren, World Bank Senior Social Protection Specialist. “Importantly, it will highlight the need to empower women within their families and communities to address the socio-cultural determinants of undernutrition.”

Many prominent organizations have partnered with the World Bank to support the South Asia Regional Development Marketplace, including UNICEF, World Food Programme, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Gates Foundation, PepsiCo, the Micronutrient Initiative (MI), GTZ (Germany), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

The Development Marketplace is a competitive grant program that uses a participatory process to identify and support grassroots initiatives with innovative approaches to solving challenging development issues. Since 1998, the DM has awarded more than $54 million in grants.

For more information about the South Asia Development Marketplace, please visit: www.worldbank.org/nutritiondm2009

For more information about the World Bank’s work in South Asia, please visit http://www.worldbank.org/sar

Afghanistan - Second and Third Programmatic Structural Adjustment Credit Project

2009-07-23T04:00:00.000Z

The Second and the Third Programmatic Support for Institution Building (PSIB) Projects for Afghanistan had a satisfactory outcome and a substantial risk to development outcome. Both the Bank and the borrower performances were satisfactory. The main lessons learned from these projects are: 1) For the PSIB II and III, the Bank team made good use of both facets of the development policy instrument. 2) The PSIBs experience emphasized the opportunity to maximize synergies with other Bank instruments and other donor programs. 3) It is vital to carefully assess the political economy in each reform area as well as ground development policy lending in high quality AAA work. 4) The PSIB series succeeded in strengthening institution building and important parts of the legal regulatory framework, but capacity development will be a long term undertaking. 5) The outcomes for the PSIB series confirmed that a results-based approach can work in a conflict-ridden and low-capacity environment.

Government of Afghanistan: New Agreements with the World Bank Aim at Widening Reforms and Improving Irrigation Infrastructure

2009-07-07T11:06:49.000Z

In Dari | In Pashto

Contacts:
World Bank: Abdul Raouf Zia (93) 700 280 800
Azia@worldbank.org

Ministry of Finance: Aziz Shams (93) 0799326383
mof.media@gmail.com

KABUL, July 07, 2009 ─ The Afghan Ministry of Finance and the World Bank today signed two grant agreements totalling US$68.5 million. This assistance will support the ongoing Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation and provide development policy support for the government's increasing fiscal demands as it tries to meet its development goals.

"Over the past seven years, the World Bank has been great supporter of Afghanistan’s national programs, providing its support through national budget systems," said HE Dr. Omar Zakhailwal, Minister of Finance, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. "We are very pleased to sign two grants, one of which provides US$35 million in discretionary funding to our development budget. This direct budget support enables the government to make decisions on how the funds are used in support of our development priorities. This grant is provided in response to the government’s successful implementation of a series of reforms to strengthen public financial management, public administration, and fiscal and economic governance. In addition, the Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project will serve to develop a key sector that is extremely important to reviving our agriculture sector and overall economic growth."

The Development Policy Grant (DPG) of US$35 million will build on the government achievements under the ongoing public financial management and public administration reform agenda. The DPG will specifically support improved management of public finances, further strengthen fiscal and economic governance, foster fiscal responsibility, and introduce aspects of greater transparency and accountability.

"Working with Afghan government over the past seven years, we have witnessed that things can improve even in an extremely difficult environment," said Mariam J. Sherman, World Bank Country Manager for Afghanistan. "Vastly improved public financial management and restored irrigation supplies for about half a million hectares of agriculture land are some clear examples of progress. While we see progress in the areas of government capacity at different levels, there are certain steps that need to be taken to safeguard and build on those gains. We, at the World Bank, remain committed to support the government’s state building efforts."

The additional grant (US$33.5 million) for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP) supports about 85 additional medium and 8 large rehabilitation schemes. It will also support further expansion of the hydro-meteorological facilities, including thirty cableways stations for river flow measurement and six silt measurement laboratories. Since its inception in 2003, the EIRP has restored irrigation supplies to more than 105,000 hectares of agricultural land that were earlier not receiving irrigation supplies because of the dilapidated condition of the irrigation infrastructure. In addition, over 90 hydrological stations have been installed to date in various river basins. These stations are crucial for improved management, future planning and development of the country’s water resources as well as for better forecasting and mitigating floods and droughts. The project has also improved capacity within the Ministry of Energy and Water through on-the-job training, particularly in the areas of identifying, preparing, designing and implementing irrigation rehabilitation schemes. With the new additional grant, total Bank’s assistance to this project reaches US$126.3 million.

"Improving irrigation infrastructure is critical to revive the Afghanistan’s agriculture sector," said HE Mohammad Esmail, Minister of Water and Energy, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. "We made significant achievements with the assistance of the World Bank project. The improved availability of irrigation water has helped boost yields of staple crops such as wheat, maize, and rice, as well as of onions, melons, and watermelons in most of the country. In fact, the revival of the agriculture sector has boosted the incomes of thousands of rural households who depend on agriculture for a living."

About the World Bank assistance: Since the resumption of operations in Afghanistan in April 2002, the World Bank Group has financed 41 projects, committing around US$1.89 billion of which US$1.45 billion is grant and US$436.4 credit (interest-free loan). The World Bank funded projects mostly support rural livelihoods, rebuilding infrastructure, education and basic health services. The World Bank also manages the US$3 billion Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). Since 2002, the IFC, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, has provided US$93 million of equity financing while its Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency has guaranteed US$107 million of foreign direct investment in Afghanistan.

World Bank Group Directs US$6.6 billion to Help South Asia Overcome Poverty, Boost Growth amid Global Crisis

2009-07-02T21:12:14.000Z

Contact:

World Bank: Dale Lautenbach

(202) 473-3405

WASHINGTON, DC, July 2, 2009 – The World Bank Group committed US$6.6 billion in fiscal year 2009 (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009) to South Asia, focusing especially on reviving growth and protecting the poor amid the global economic crisis. This is an increase of US$1.1 billion over the previous year.

The Bank Group invested in 89 projects to promote economic growth, fight poverty, and assist private businesses, including nearly US$2 billion in infrastructure financing, a critical sector to provide the foundation for rapid recovery from the crisis and job creation.

Much of the Bank’s support focused on helping South Asian countries cope with the impact of the global economic crisis. For example, the Bank provided US$500 million to support the Government of Pakistan’s program to regain and maintain economic stability and steer the economy back onto a higher growth path. In India, a US$400 million loan was extended to improve access to finance for India’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which face serious challenges in accessing adequate and timely financing on competitive terms.

“South Asian countries have been hard hit by a series of crises—food, then the fuel crisis, followed by the global financial crisis,” said Isabel M. Guerrero, World Bank Vice President for South Asia. “In response to the impact of these successive crises much of our work has been refocused to provide rapid financial assistance and policy advice to reverse the slowdown in growth and investment and to protect the poor and most vulnerable people.”

Globally, the World Bank Group committed US$58.8 billion in fiscal year 2009, up 54 percent from fiscal year 2008. Commitments from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)—which provides financing, risk management products, and other financial services to countries—rose sharply in FY09 to $32.9 billion for 126 operations, from US$13.5 billion the previous year. Commitments from the International Development Association (IDA), which provides interest-free loans and grants to the world’s 79 poorest countries, totaled a record US$14 billion in FY09, up 25 percent from US$11.2 billion in FY08.

“Requests for assistance from the World Bank Group rose sharply this year, and we expect this to continue well into 2010, as the pace of recovery is far from certain,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “Millions of people are still suffering, and we must continue to help countries safeguard priority expenditures, including on essential infrastructure, investment in human capital, and social safety nets, or we will further jeopardize hard-fought gains over recent years in overcoming poverty.”

Within South Asia, India was the largest borrower from IBRD and IDA, accounting for US$2,242 billion. Pakistan was the second largest borrower with US$1,609 million (IDA), followed by Bangladesh at US$1,096 million (IDA).

IBRD and IDA Lending in South Asia (Amounts in millions of US dollars)
	IBRD	IDA	IBRD/IDA
Afghanistan		197	197
Bangladesh		1,096	1,096
Bhutan		20	20
India	1,286	956	2,242
Maldives		3	3
Nepal		139	139
Pakistan		1,609	1,609
Sri Lanka		122	122
Total	1,286	4,142	5,428

Key to the Bank’s strategy in South Asia is scaling up existing programs that are delivering results. For example, in fiscal year 2009 the Bank approved US$250 million for the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), a program the institution has supported since 2000. During this time, PPAF has facilitated the formation of 80,000 community organizations and provided 1.9 million micro-credit loans and 16,000 community infrastructure schemes. Similarly in Afghanistan, the Bank committed US$75 million to Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Program, a rural development initiative that has reached over 22,000 villages—about 68 percent of the rural population.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which makes equity investments, and provides loans, guarantees, and advisory services to private-sector business, committed close to US$1.2 billion in 47 projects in FY09 in South Asia. A third of the commitments this year were in infrastructure to support the acute financing needs of the sector in the region. A quarter of the program focused on the financial sector and the balance in manufacturing, agribusiness, health, and education sectors. In response to the scarcity of trade financing after the global economic slowdown, the region committed US$100 million in trade finance facilities to support local enterprises. As many as 15 projects in the region have a climate change component.

Paolo M. Martelli, Regional Director for IFC South Asia, said, “IFC's priority has always been to stand by our clients in the private sector. In difficult times, our role becomes even more critical. This year, IFC focused on the region's needs in infrastructure, on renewable, and clean production projects with significant development impacts."

IFC’s strategy in the South Asia region supports inclusive growth by increasing access to infrastructure and finance, focusing on low-income, rural, and fragile regions and making climate change central to its work, targeting areas where IFC can make the biggest difference. Through its advisory work, IFC addresses critical areas such as business environment reform, sustainable supply chains, access to finance, infrastructure, energy efficiency, and clean production.

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the Bank Group’s political risk insurance agency, is also supporting development in South Asia. In Pakistan, MIGA guarantees totaling US$1.74 million supported the establishment of Kashf Microfinance Bank (KMB) to make financial services available to the majority of unbanked population. Over the next five years, KMB will reach 1 million small depositors and 350,000 entrepreneurs through a network of over 100 branches across Pakistan. The network will be supplemented by 300 service posts closer to low income communities.

“As the leading international institution promoting foreign direct investment in emerging and transition economies, MIGA can help investors mitigate risks in these uncertain times and play an important role in helping countries attract FDI,” said Izumi Kobayashi, MIGA’s Executive Vice President. “MIGA can act as a stabilizing influence in the market.”

For more information about the World Bank’s work in South Asia, visit http://www.worldbank.org/sar

For more information about IFC’s work in South Asia, visit http://www.ifc.org/southasia/

For more information about MIGA, visit www.miga.org

The project Afghanistan Health (supplement II) has changed to Closed

2009-07-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Health (supplement II) has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Second Additional Financing for Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project objectives are to assist Afghanistan in: (a) reducing infant and child mortality, maternal mortality, child malnutrition and increasing access to reproductive health through the expansion of basic health care services; (b) increasing Ministry of Public Health (MOPH's) stewardship over the sector; and (c) build the capacity of Afghan health workers to better provide and manage health services. The additional grant will help finance the costs associated with the scaling up and enhancing the impact of a well performing project. The focus of the additional financing is to expand the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) and related activities that will directly affect child and maternal mortality, especially in hard to reach and insecure areas. More specifically, the additional financing will be used to: (i) extend the current contracting with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and the MOPH strengthening mechanism (MOPH-SM); (ii) strengthen the delivery of BPHS in insecure areas, particularly in Helmand; and (iii) support polio eradication and measles/ neo-natal tetanus control.

The project Afghanistan Health (supplement) has changed to Closed

2009-07-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Health (supplement) has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

This additional grant would help finance the costs associated with scaling up, and enhancing the impact of the well performing Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project. The focus of the additional funding will be: a) expanding the coverage of the basic package of health services (BPHS), and related activities that will directly affect child mortality; and, b) introducing a few new activities that will set the stage for future efforts related to improving the performance of the health sector, particularly enhancing the quality of hospital services, building human resources, and strengthening key stewardship functions of the Government. Specifically, the additional financing will be used to: (i) expand the coverage of the BPHS into rural areas not currently being served, through new performance-based partnership agreements (PPAs) that will cover about 1.15 million people. It will also extend the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) delivery of services, through the MOPH strengthening mechanism (MOPH-SM) and existing PPAs for another 18 months (from September 30, 2006 to March 31, 2008); (ii) support mass immunization campaigns aimed at eradicating polio and controlling measles and neonatal tetanus; (iii) begin activities aimed at systematically strengthening the management of hospitals; and, (iv) enhance capacity building activities in the MOPH particularly related to training more female front-line health workers and further strengthen the MOPH's ability to track performance o f the sector.

The project Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project has changed to Closed

2009-07-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project seeks to develop a health care system that will equitably deliver basic health services to underserved rural populations, in a sustainable manner. Key performance indicators highlight infant mortality, malnutrition in children, fertility rates, and maternal mortality ratios. The main components seek to: 1) expand basic health services through performance-based partnership agreements (PPAs), and, implement strengthened mechanisms within the Ministry of Health (MOH), to increase access to the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS), including first level hospital services, as well as training provision to community health workers, traditional birth attendants, and female auxiliary mid-wives; 2) provide equipment and furniture to existing rural health facilities, in addition to construction of new basic, and comprehensive health centers, supported by other donors, particularly the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The component shall include basic surgical equipment, and ensure support for caesarian sections, and capability to manage traumatic injuries; 3) support pilot tests for a safe water system, to decrease the incidence of diarrheal diseases; and, innovate health care financing mechanisms, by including a community health contribution comparable to user charges; and, 4) help build capacity through training assistance, provision of solar-powered radios, and computers to facilitate supervision, and monitoring, and, strengthen MOH health management capacity.

The project Sustainable Development of Natural Resources - Additional Financing has changed to Active

2009-06-13T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Development of Natural Resources - Additional Financing has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources Project is to assist the Ministry of Mines in improving its capacity to effectively regulate Afghanistan's minerals and hydrocarbon resources sector in a transparent manner and foster private development in this sector. The additional financing will help finance additional activities that will support attainment of the original development objective and increase project impact, and the increased field operating expenses associated with the establishment of a mining cadastre and field geological survey work which are in the original project scope. The key additional activities that have necessitated the request for additional funding are: (i) support to the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) to complete the Aynak copper deposit transaction; (ii) support to the GoA to undertake the Hajigak iron ore deposit transaction; (iii) the development of a program to provide relevant sector knowledge to other GOA agencies, particularly the Ministry of Finance, for sector taxation and revenue management related matters, and planning for structured training in geo-sciences and mining at an educational institution in Afghanistan; and (iv) provision of additional laboratory and field research equipment to the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS).

World Bank Provides Further Support to Help Sustain Development of Natural Resources in Afghanistan

2009-06-11T20:05:53.000Z

Contacts:

In Kabul: Abdul Raouf Zia (93) 700 280800

azia@worldbank.org

In Washington: Erik Nora (202) 458 4735

enora@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2009 ─ The World Bank today approved an additional grant of US$10 million to assist the Government of Afghanistan to effectively and transparently regulate its minerals and hydrocarbon resources and to foster private investment in the sector.

In June 2006, the World Bank provided a US$30 million grant for the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources project to strengthen government oversight of the minerals and hydrocarbons sectors, to promote private sector investment, and to build capacity of the government to effectively administer the sector.

Since inception, despite a number of constraints - notably a difficult business environment - the project has made steady progress. For example, the project has helped to stimulate private sector investment in Afghanistan through the facilitation of the successful tender of the Aynak copper deposit, one of the largest in the world. To date the government has concluded the main contractual agreements, and once actual work commences it will generate total investment of around US$10 billion over the next 5 to 10 years. Successful conclusion of the main agreement has already resulted in a payment of US$ 80.8 million to the government as the first tranche of a US$808 million premium for the right to develop the deposit.

“Strengthening government supervisory institutions and building human capacity is at the heart of the project and is essential to good governance of the mining sector,” said Craig Andrews, World Bank Lead Mining Specialist and task team leader for the project. “With support of the project, the government has initiated training programs for personnel, is putting into place mine title and cadastre management systems, and is developing regulations for environmental management of the sector.”

In addition to strengthening the Ministry of Mines’ capacity to supervise the mining sector, the government is moving towards its goal of ensuring transparency and good governance in the sector, as well as recognizing the need for robust environmental and social management of projects. The government recently took the important step of endorsing the principles of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which promote transparent and systematic reporting of benefits streams received from the extractive industries. Sustained efforts will now be needed to implement this important agenda. The government is drafting mining and environmental regulations which provide clear guidelines and procedures for issuance of mine titles.

The additional grant of US$10 million will specifically finance advisory services to support the government in completion of the ancillary agreements for the Aynak copper deposit and the tender process for the Hajigak iron ore deposit. Hajigak is believed to be the largest iron ore deposit in Asia with reserves of over 1.2 billion tones.

For more information on the Bank’s work in Afghanistan, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org.af

For more project information, please visit: http://go.worldbank.org/INJJEZJP00

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

Afghanistan: Sustainable Development of Natural Resources Project

2009-06-11T19:51:03.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2009 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved the following project:

Afghanistan: Sustainable Development of Natural Resources Project

IDA Grant: US$10 million equivalent

Project ID: P116651

Project Description: The objective of the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources Project in Afghanistan is to assist the Ministry of Mines in improving its capacity to effectively regulate Afghanistan's minerals and hydrocarbon resources sector in a transparent manner and foster private development. The additional financing will increase project impact, and the increased field operating expenses associated with the establishment of a mining cadastre and field geological survey work.

Media Contact:

Erik Nora

(202) 458-4735

enora@worldbank.org

For more project information, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P116651

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

The project Afg Strengthening Institutions DPG has changed to Active

2009-06-10T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afg Strengthening Institutions DPG has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Afghanistan: Strengthening Institutions Development (DPG) Program

2009-06-04T21:19:28.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2009 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved the following project:

IDA Grant: US$35 million equivalent

Project Description: The grant supports the implementation of the Government of Afghanistan’s medium-term development strategy within the context of a satisfactory macroeconomic framework. The purpose of the DPG is to secure sound macroeconomic management and fiduciary standards for all resources channeled through the Afghan core budget including funds from the World Bank and Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. The Strengthening Institutions Development Policy Grant will have the following core development objectives: (i) improve fiscal planning, and public financial management, (ii) strengthen public administration reform and sub-national administration, and (iii) increase transparency and accountability in the management of public finances.

Media Contact:

Jan Erik Nora

(202) 458 4735

enora@worldbank.org

For more project information, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P107921

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

Afghan Ownership and Improved Local Level Accountability Key to Effective Service Delivery in Afghanistan, says new World Bank Country Strategy

2009-06-04T20:42:46.000Z

Contacts:

In Kabul:

Abdul Raouf Zia (93) 702 80800

Azia@worldbank.org

In Washington: Erik Nora (202) 458 4735

enora@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, June 04, 2009 — Ensuring the effectiveness of sound national programs that deliver services equitably and pooling donor resources are vital to improve the effectiveness with which aid is utilized in Afghanistan, says the World Bank’s new assistance strategy for Afghanistan.

The Interim Strategy Note (ISN) for Afghanistan — discussed today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors — says building an Afghan state that can effectively ensure the delivery of services and security to its people is critical to sustain and accelerate the progress made so far.

"We are working with the government to support their efforts, and let me emphasize that, their efforts," said Nicholas Krafft, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan. "This includes getting the roles right for everyone. Government's role is overseeing, regulating and ensuring that citizens get their fair share of services provided through the public sector, NGOs, community groups or private providers depending on the circumstance. Where donors rally behind national leadership and a clear strategy, which indeed exists in Afghanistan for some important programs, our coordinated efforts work best."

However, said Krafft around two-thirds of international aid to Afghanistan is channeled to the country outside of the government budget, limiting its authority, distorting the distribution of its resources and, ultimately, its ownership of the development agenda. "Public financial management in Afghanistan has progressively improved in recent years and funds channeled through the budget are subject to adequate processes and safeguards which mitigate risks of corruption. Reforms, including on governance remain a challenge, and improvements are certainly needed to ensure accountability to citizens, but we are seeing progress."

The ISN, which details the Bank Group’s approach to helping Afghanistan achieve its development goals, covers the period 2009 - 2011 and envisages a grant program of around US$600 million. The Bank will continue to bolster core government systems as the basis for credible state building, through efforts to strengthen public financial management, fiscal sustainability, and improved transparency and accountability.

Key to the Bank’s approach in the country is enhancing partnerships with other donors to ensure aid is used effectively. Currently, around 60 international donors are active in Afghanistan, and aid is often fragmented and focused in select provinces, pulling resources away from national programs and undermining the legitimacy of the state. The ISN cites the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) as a good example of a more harmonized approach. ARTF pools funds from 30 countries and international organizations and channels them entirely through the government budget under strict fiduciary controls.

The strategy is presented at a time of considerable political uncertainty and mounting security challenges. Presidential and provincial council elections are scheduled for August 2009 with parliamentary elections to follow in 2010. Despite deteriorating security conditions, Afghanistan’s economy has grown strongly over the past six years, at around 12 percent per annum. Average per-capita GDP nearly doubled since 2002, albeit starting from a very low base.

Afghanistan has made progress in many areas, including health, education, microfinance, irrigation and rural livelihoods, as well as in sound macroeconomic management and progressive improvements in public financial management. The results achieved to date reflect the massive support of the international community to help rebuild Afghanistan, the efforts of many enterprising Afghans who continue to deliver services in challenging circumstances, and the impact of strong leadership in key areas.

“Resources channeled to successful national programs such as the National Solidarity Program, education, health, irrigation, rural access roads, and microfinance have had a remarkably strong impact, reaching across the country and improving the day-to-day life of millions of Afghans,” said Mariam Sherman, World Bank Country Manager for Afghanistan.

Given the enormous needs and the overall importance of the rural economy for growth and poverty reduction support to the rural economy and livelihoods will remain a strong priority for the Bank. Rural programs also serve as important entry points for shifting economic incentives away from opium and toward alternative, legal high-value agricultural products.

The Bank will also continue supporting growth of the formal private sector through lending and advisory work as well as identify and address specific measures that catalyze business growth. It will also invest directly in local companies, including banks, to help them expand business. In addition, the International Financial Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group is working with a number of local companies including local banks, and continues to provide technical assistance in the financial sector. IFC’s investments in Afghanistan have increased from US$7 million in FY05 to US$62 million in FY08. The World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is closely working with the Afghanistan Investment Guarantee Facility to encourage foreign direct investment in Afghanistan. To date, a total of six guarantees have been underwritten with the Afghanistan Investment Guarantee Facility (AIGF) for five beneficiaries covering the agricultural, financial, pharmaceutical, construction, and telecommunication sectors.

In conjunction with the ISN discussion, the World Bank’s Board also approved a Development Policy Grant (DPG) of US$35 million for Afghanistan. The DPG supports the government to consolidate previous achievements under the ongoing public financial management and public administration reform agenda. This will help maintain reforms in areas with a proven track record, but in an increasingly uncertain environment. The focus will be to sustain and deepen reforms in the realm of the Ministry of Finance and support its role as a government-wide reform champion.

Total World Bank commitments to Afghanistan since re-engagement in 2002 have reached US$1.87 billion, comprising US$1.43 billion in IDA grants and US$436.4 million in IDA credits

For more information on World Bank activities in Afghanistan, please visit:

http://www.worldbank.org.af

For more project information for Development Policy Grant, please visit:

http://go.worldbank.org/BJ94YIX9C0

For more information on ARTF, please visit: www.worldbank.org/artf

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

Government of Afghanistan and the World Bank Sign a Grant Agreement Aimed at Further Support to a Flagship Rural Development Program

2009-05-31T06:19:15.000Z

In Dari | In Pashto

Contacts:
World Bank: Abdul Raouf Zia (93) 700 280 800
Azia@worldbank.org

Ministry of Finance: Aziz Shams (93) 0799326383

mof.media@gmail.com

KABUL, May 31, 2009 ─ The Ministry of Finance, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the World Bank today signed an agreement that will grant US$75 million to help improve local governance at the grassroots level and build rural infrastructure. The World Bank’s new grant assistance is set to support the continuation of Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Program (NSP). The NSP is part of the government’s broader effort to forge national unity and rebuild Afghanistan from the bottom up.

Since 2003, the Government of Afghanistan made a concerted effort to address state building and local governance through the NSP, while responding to an urgent need to provide basic infrastructure to the rural population. The NSP quickly became one of the most successful national priority programs, supporting local governance building and rural infrastructure rehabilitation, such as irrigation, rural roads, electrification, and drinking water supply.

"Improving the economy as well as infrastructure in the rural areas, where the vast majority of Afghans live, is critically important for bringing the country out of poverty," said HE Omar Zakhilwal, Minister of Finance Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. "Despite numerous challenges, the program has touched and improved the lives of over 19 million rural inhabitants throughout the country. To ensure its continued success, we need to further strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of the program.

Despite great challenges, including inadequate security, the program has recorded some remarkable achievements. Between May 2003 and May 2009, over 22,000 communities have been mobilized, with 99 percent of them successfully electing Community Development Councils (CDCs). These CDCs are established through the assistance of 29 NSP Facilitating Partners which mobilize the community, facilitate elections, support the formulation of community development plans through community consultation, assist in project preparation and implementation, and build capacity among the CDC members. So far, 48,879 CDC subprojects have been partially or fully financed, of which some 27,917 subprojects have been completed.

"The needs of rural Afghans are significant and enormous," said HE Wais Ahmad Barmak, Deputy Minister, Programs, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. "A onetime development intervention will surely not be enough to put Afghan village on a good development path. Continued support through these elected bodies will guarantee the success and sustainability of the program on the one hand, and on the other will maintain relations between the Government and Afghans at the grassroots." Government has been able to gain the trust of villagers through the NSP and this effort needs to be sustained. Discussions have therefore started within the Government about the future of NSP."

The community subprojects financed under the NSP focus on social, productive and economic infrastructure and are based on the priorities of the rural population. Of the currently funded community subprojects, 24 percent address water and sanitation issues; 17 percent rehabilitate or develop irrigation systems; 24 percent improve transportation infrastructure (e.g. roads, bridges); 14 percent provide energy (e.g. micro-hydro,); 5 percent improve livelihoods and income-generation; 13 percent work on education infrastructure and 3 percent goes towards other investments. The NSP is active in 359 of Afghanistan’s 364 districts as well as in 34 provincial centers in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

"Taking into account the progress being made, it is essential to build and consolidate the success achieved so far to ensure the sustainability of the program," said Mariam J. Sherman, World Bank Country Manager for Afghanistan. "To this end, discussion about the next step of the program has already begun. The next phase of NSP must focus, among other activities, on measures to ensure sustainability and improving the quality of the CDCs."

The new additional grant of US$75 million will specifically provide block grants to 22,600 CDCs to complete their community projects that have already been identified. In order to cover the entire rural areas in Afghanistan, the program needs to mobilize and establish around 9000 new CDCs.

The World Bank is one of the main sources of financing for the NSP and provides oversight on behalf of contributing donors. With this additional grant, the total World Bank’s support for NSP reaches about US$381million. Other sources include the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF – US$518 million), the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF – US$40 million), and numerous bilateral contributors.

About the World Bank assistance:

Since the resumption of operations in Afghanistan in April 2002, the World Bank Group has financed 41 projects, committing around US$1.8 billion of which US$1.3 billion is grant and US$436.4 credit (interest-free loan). The World Bank funded projects mostly support rural livelihoods, rebuilding infrastructure, education and basic health services. The World Bank also manages the US$3 billion Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). Since 2002, the IFC, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, has provided US$62.6 million of equity financing while its Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency has guaranteed US$77.9 million of investment.

For more information about NSP, please visit: www.nspafghanistan.org

Afghanistan: World Bank Provides Further Support to Rehabilitate Irrigation Schemes

2009-05-28T21:49:54.000Z

Contacts:
In Kabul: Abdul Raouf Zia
(93) 700 280800
Azia@worldbank.org
In Washington: Erik Nora
(202) 458 4735
enora@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2009 ─ The World Bank today approved an additional grant of US$33.5 million to help restore irrigated agricultural production in Afghanistan’s rural communities through improved and reliable water supply to irrigation schemes. The additional grant will support the continuation of Afghanistan’s Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP), which is part of the government’s broader effort to rehabilitate and restore irrigation infrastructure.

In 2003, the World Bank financed EIRP through a US$40 million credit serving all major river basins of Afghanistan, which have classified into six regions: Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat, Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif. So far two additional grants totaling US$53 million have been provided to support the continuation of the project.

Since its inception, the EIRP has restored irrigation supplies to more than 100,000 hectares of agricultural land that were earlier not receiving irrigation supplies because of the dilapidated condition of the irrigation infrastructure. In addition, over 70 hydrological stations have been installed to date in various river basins. These stations are crucial for improved management, future planning and development of the country’s water resources as well as for better forecasting and mitigating floods and droughts. The project has also improved capacity within the Ministry of Energy and Water through on-the-job training, particularly in the areas of identifying, preparing, designing and implementing irrigation rehabilitation schemes.

“Afghanistan’s agriculture sector has severely suffered over the past several decades due to political upheavals, damaging floods and drought, and neglected maintenance of the irrigation infrastructure,” said Usman Qamar, Senior Rural Development Specialist and Project Team Leader. “Despite the substantial achievements to date, the country’s needs for irrigation rehabilitation are large with over a million hectares of irrigated area yet to be rehabilitated. Continued support to rehabilitation of traditional irrigation schemes is a key element for the revival of agriculture and improving food security in the country.”

Afghanistan’s harsh terrain and arid climate make it an unforgiving place for agriculture. Only 12 percent of the land is arable and 85 percent of that land requires irrigation. About 60 to 70 percent of the underground small canals that tap subsurface water (Kareze) are not in use, and most of the river diversion structures feeding the irrigation canals are not functional or of temporary nature. In addition, traditional and large canal networks are damaged and partly or wholly dysfunctional. Consequently, irrigation schemes now operate at about 25 percent efficiency, compared to the norm of 40 to 60 percent. Agriculture productivity remains low, variable and vulnerable to erratic irrigation supplies.

The additional financing will support about 85 additional medium and 8 large rehabilitation schemes. It will also support further expansion of the hydro-meteorological facilities, including thirty cableways stations for river flow measurement and six silt measurement laboratories.

Note to Editors:
The IDA credit of US$40 million for the Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project carries no interest, a 0.75 percent service charge, and has a 40-year maturity, with a 10-year grace period.

For more information on the Bank’s work in Afghanistan, please visit:
http://www.worldbank.org.af

For more project information, please visit:
Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

The project Additional Financing for Customs Modernization and Trade Facilitation Project is now in the pipeline.

2009-05-28T04:00:00.000Z

The project Additional Financing for Customs Modernization and Trade Facilitation Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The development objectives of the Additional Financing for the Emergency Customs Modernization and Trade Facilitation Project for Afghanistan is to: (i) provide the recipient with emergency assistance in the establishment of a more efficient customs and transit regime; (ii) assist the recipient's efforts to increase, in the short term, through the reduction of customs irregularities and inefficiencies the collecting capacity of the Afghanistan Customs Department (ACD) and other collection agencies; (iii) assist the recipient's efforts to decrease, in the medium to long term, trade transaction costs through improvements in key customs and related transit infrastructure and communications and improvements in customs and transit administration; and (iv) assist the recipient in laying the basis for a functioning customs service and taking appropriate measures to facilitate its international trade. The additional financing will help finance a funding gap for selected core project activities included in the original project scope. The project has also helped in strengthening the institution through policy changes, streamlining and harmonization of various administrative and customs procedures including development of more than 30 different procedures and regulations, as well as 20 forms and reporting formats, assistance in tariff classification, valuation and transit, and technical advice on trade and transit agreements. The project also helped in establishing the customs training unit. More than 1000 staff has participated in 59 courses on various subjects, organized by the training unit. In addition, to help provide a professional environment for ACD, more than 56 facilities have been rehabilitated, constructed or functionally improved.

Afghanistan - Rural Enterprise Development Program Project

2009-05-18T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Development of Natural Resources - Additional Financing is now in the pipeline.

2009-05-07T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Development of Natural Resources - Additional Financing is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Afghanistan - Additional Financing for Sustainable Development of Natural Resources

2009-05-05T04:00:00.000Z

Afghanistan - Development Policy Grant Project

2009-04-21T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Development Policy Grant is now in the pipeline.

2009-04-21T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Development Policy Grant is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project NSP II - Additional Financing is now in the pipeline.

2009-03-31T04:00:00.000Z

The project NSP II - Additional Financing is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Second National Solidarity Program Project is to strengthen community level governance in Afghanistan and to improve the access of rural communities to social and productive infrastructure and services. The additional financing will help finance a funding gap and enable completion of original project activities. There will be no changes to the project's development objectives, results framework and key outcome indicators, and implementation arrangements. As the project is to reach more rural communities than originally envisaged, the project's impact will be enhanced. The program finances: (i) community mobilization, empowerment and capacity building; (ii) block grants to communities to implement sub-projects for reconstruction and development; and (iii) program implementation management support, including program monitoring and evaluation.

The project Technical Assistance for Water-sector Capacity Building is now in the pipeline.

2009-03-26T04:00:00.000Z

The project Technical Assistance for Water-sector Capacity Building is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Afghanistan - Financial Sector Strengthening Project

2009-03-24T04:00:00.000Z

Afghanistan - Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project

2009-03-16T04:00:00.000Z

Afghanistan - Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project : resettlement plan

2009-03-12T04:00:00.000Z

The objective of the ongoing Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP) in Afghanistan remains unchanged to restore irrigated agricultural production in rural areas, through improved and reliable water supply to rehabilitated traditional irrigation schemes. Following principles must be followed to mitigate the negative impacts of the project: 1) all land should be survey and mapped and agreement reached with government on explicit eligibility cut-off date; 2) where land is disputed or land ownership is not clear, the land will be surveyed and a map hereof issued to the affected families. In case of land disputes, attempts should be made to settle disputes prior to project start; 3) customary and collective rights, e.g. to grazing land and commons, should be verified and documented through community-level consultations and local authorities. Customary and collective rights are also subject to compensation; 4) compensation for land, housing and assets are based on principles of replacement cost and mutually agreeable solutions based on consultative approach with project affected persons (PAPs); 5) where affected land provide income, the equivalent to the value of the crop lost will be given in compensation, based on the value of the harvests lost until the replacement crop (e.g. fruit tress) come into full production; 6) if land forms basis for other income, the value of the income hereof will be subject to third party assessment ; and 7) if PAPs are squatters/informal settlers on the land, they will receive economic/material compensation to re-establish themselves elsewhere without suffering damage to their livelihood or living standard.

Afghanistan - Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project : environment and social safeguard framework

2009-03-12T04:00:00.000Z

The main objective of the Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project for Afghanistan is that farmers in the project area utilize improved, reliable and equitable irrigation water deliveries to increase agricultural productivity and farm income, improve food security and livelihoods, and reduce vulnerability to drought. Negative impacts include: downstream water availability; flood regime; water logging; increased salinity; local erosion, dust; incidence of diseases, such as malaria; drainage of water bodies; pollution; and discharges form construction campsites. Mitigation measures include: i) maintain flow required for downstream uses; ii) check for flood recession agriculture; iii) improve drainage/ lining of canals; iv) provide adequate drainage facilities; v) provide specifications for appropriate cut and fill operations for channels; vi) design appropriate structures to prevent sediment entry factoring in, inter alias, upstream expanded activities; vii) proper drainage of the area; viii) provide for proper sanitation arrangements (bathing, toilets, solid waste management, etc.); ix) minimize drainage of water bodies acting as habitat; and x) provision of all amenities in construction camp sites to reduce stress on already stretched infrastructure.

Afghanistan - Strengthening Health Activities for the Rural Poor (SHARP) Project

2009-02-25T05:00:00.000Z

Draft environmental management plan

2009-02-24T05:00:00.000Z

Afghanistan - Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project

2009-02-05T05:00:00.000Z

The project Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project is now in the pipeline.

2009-02-04T05:00:00.000Z

The project Additional Financing for Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Third Additional Financing for the Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP) for Afghanistan is to restore irrigated agricultural production in rural areas, through improved and reliable water supply by rehabilitating traditional irrigation schemes. The additional financing will help finance costs associated with scaled up activities to enhance the impact of a well-performing project. The additional financing will support additional activities under the various components of the ongoing project, including: (i) rehabilitation of about 85 medium and lesser schemes ' , and 8 large schemes including performance-based contracts for operation and maintenance (O&M); (ii) installation of hydro-meteorological facilities; (iii) support for monitoring and evaluation (M&E), including mainstreaming of M&E activities in Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW); and (iv) continuation of various institutional strengthening and capacity building activities, including construction and refurbishing of office buildings for MEW and provincial irrigation departments. Expected outcomes from the additional financing will be as follows: (a) irrigated agriculture will be restored in an additional area of about 23,000 ha that is currently out of command because of the dilapidated state of the irrigation facilities; (b) increase in agricultural productivity in rehabilitated irrigation schemes; and (c) enhanced capacity in MEW.

Afghanistan - Pension Administration/Safety Net Project

2009-01-16T05:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Pension Administration / Safety Net Project is now in the pipeline.

2009-01-14T05:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Pension Administration / Safety Net Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Public finance, security, and development : a framework and an application to Afghanistan

2009-01-05T05:00:00.000Z

Security is increasingly viewed as a key condition for economic growth and development. The authors argue that the work and impact of all development partners would be enhanced if the multiple linkages between public finance, security, and development were explicitly taken into account. At the extreme, in some cases better public finance management could have more impact on security than would more troops. The paper first outlines three core linkages between security and development-through the investment climate, human and social capital, and institutions. The authors then propose three complementary tools to analyze the security sector from the point of view of public finance management, service delivery, and governance. This conceptual framework is applied to the case of Afghanistan. The paper closes by drawing some conclusions about possible entry points for dialogue in this difficult area.

Afghanistan - Strengthening Health Activities for the Rural Poor (SHARP) Project

2008-11-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Strengthening Health Activities for the Rural Poor (SHARP) is now in the pipeline.

2008-10-28T04:00:00.000Z

The project Strengthening Health Activities for the Rural Poor (SHARP) is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Strengthening Health Activities for the Rural Poor (SHARP) grant will help finance the costs associated with the provision of health services to the Afghan population with particular attention to basic health services for women and children in underserved areas. The grant builds on the experience o f the Health Sector Emergency Reconstruction and Development Project (2003-2009), and widens the scope by: (a) initiating a programmatic approach to the sector based on the Afghanistan Health and Nutrition Sector Strategy; (b) expanding the delivery of the basic package of health services (BPHS); (c) supporting the delivery of essential package of hospital services (EPHS); (d) further strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) both at central and provincial level; and (e) testing innovations to increase utilization of health services. The grant is expected to improve the health status of the Afghan population by reducing morbidity and mortality, especially among children and women. It will also contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The project Afghanistan Power System Development Project is now in the pipeline.

2008-10-26T04:00:00.000Z

The project Afghanistan Power System Development Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project AF Rural Enterprise Development Program is now in the pipeline.

2008-10-15T04:00:00.000Z

The project AF Rural Enterprise Development Program is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database