http://www.education-fast-track.org/content.asp?ContentId=1144
India not participating in Fast Track Initiative which allows countries to
borrow mone and tech support for improving education sector.
Umesh
5. Most Countries On Track to Reach 2010 Education Goal, Says Education Fast
Track Initiative Report - Most of the 32 countries supported by the Education
for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI) are on track to have all six-year-olds
enrolled in Grade One by 2010, a critical step on the way to achieving the goal
of universal primary education by 2015. However, more funding will be needed as
the Initiative continues to expand to include more countries, reports an annual
progress report released on December 10 in Dakar. The FTI Annual Report 2007
released in December, Quality Education for All Children: Meeting the
Challenge, documents progress in 32 countries with education sector plans
endorsed by the FTI. Eighteen of these countries receive financial support from
the Catalytic Fund, a multi-donor trust fund that provides additional financing
to help countries implement their education sector plans.
World Bank Civil Society Team <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: World Bank Civil
Society Team <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: World Bank Civil Society Engagement Newsletter - December 2007
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:30:39 -0500
MAIN STORIES:
1. Record Funding for World Bank's International Development Association
2.Bank and Global Trade Unions Assess Engagement Results over Past Five Years
3.World Bank President Meets Civil Society in China
4.Annual Integrity Report Highlights Increased Investigations, New Tools, and
Better Donor Coordination
5.Most Countries On Track to Reach 2010 Education Goal, Says Education
FastTrack Initiative Report
6.Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Launched at Bali Climate Change Conference
7.Debate on World Bank Conditionality Continues
* NEWS FROM THE WORLD BANK'S REGIONAL DEPARTMENTS
* NEW PUBLICATIONS FROM THE WORLD BANK
* RECENT GLOBAL EVENTS/DISCUSSIONS
---------------------------------
1. Record Funding for World Bank's International Development Association - At
the conclusion of the final meeting the 15th replenishment of the International
Development Association (IDA15) held in Berlin on December 14, donor countries
announced their record pledge of US$ 25.1 billion. In total, the IDA15
replenishment will provide US$ 41.6 billion, an increase of US$ 9.5 billion
over the previous replenishment (IDA14) which provided US$ 32.1 billion. The
record donor pledges for IDA15 represent a 42 percent increase from the
previous replenishment. This is complemented by US$ 16.5 billion in internal
financing from the World Bank Group and prior donor pledges for financing debt
forgiveness. IDA15 will support low-income countries by increasing its
activities in combating climate change, facilitating regional integration and
cooperation, boosting infrastructure investment and providing greater support
to post-conflict countries, notably in Africa. Throughout the
replenishment process, Bank staff met with CSOs in Washington, Europe, and
Africa to explain details of the process and take on their concerns. More
2. Bank and Global Trade Unions Assess Engagement Results over Past Five
Years - As the Bank has reached out to the civil society sector over the past
several decades, relations with one constituency, trade unions, has seemed to
evolve the farthest in terms of the breadth and substance. In February 2002 all
parties concerned World Bank, IMF, and the International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) decided to adopt a protocol to formalize and intensify
this engagement process. Activities carried out under this institutional
arrangement have included: bi-annual high level meetings, annual technical
workshops, staff secondments, and ongoing exchange of information. A workshop
with staff from the Bank, Fund, and the ITUC was held on December 10 11, 2007
to review the quality and results of these engagement activities. More
3. World Bank President Meets Civil Society in China - During his visit in
Beijing, World Bank President, Robert B. Zoellick met with a group of 10
Chinese CSO representatives working in the areas of environment, women, youth,
migrants workers and their children, and ethnic minorities. The CSO
representatives raised a number of issues that they deemed important and called
for more attention from the World Bank. Issues facing women in China, adaption
of Chinese youth to the changing world, sustainable development of the CSO
sector and its influence on government policy, promotion of a more sustainable
life style and eco-culture, situation of rural migrant workers, access to
education for migrant children in the cities, the need for capacity building
training by NGOs, were among the topics that were discussed. Mr. Zoellick
responded point by point to all the issues raised. He also said that the Bank
would try to build CSO support into the projects in China and also use
the Bank's role as an intermediary to mobilize resources from other donors.
More
4. Annual Integrity Report Highlights Increased Investigations, New Tools,
and Better Donor Coordination - The World Banks Department of Institutional
Integrity (INT) made significant contributions to the global fight against
corruption in Fiscal Year 2007 according to a new report just released. The
report, "Improving Development Outcomes: Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Integrity
Report", notes that the INT closed a total of 301 cases in Fiscal Year 2007,
including both cases of fraud and corruption in Bank-financed projects and
cases of alleged staff misconduct. Other results highlighted in the report were
a 25 percent increase in closed investigations from the previous fiscal year,
the launch of a Voluntary Disclosure Program to deter private-sector
corruption, and agreement on a coordinated approach to rooting out corruption
among the International Financial Institutions. More
5. Most Countries On Track to Reach 2010 Education Goal, Says Education Fast
Track Initiative Report - Most of the 32 countries supported by the Education
for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI) are on track to have all six-year-olds
enrolled in Grade One by 2010, a critical step on the way to achieving the goal
of universal primary education by 2015. However, more funding will be needed as
the Initiative continues to expand to include more countries, reports an annual
progress report released on December 10 in Dakar. The FTI Annual Report 2007
released in December, Quality Education for All Children: Meeting the
Challenge, documents progress in 32 countries with education sector plans
endorsed by the FTI. Eighteen of these countries receive financial support from
the Catalytic Fund, a multi-donor trust fund that provides additional financing
to help countries implement their education sector plans.
More
6. Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Launched at Bali Climate Change
Conference - World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick launched on December
11 in Bali a new financing mechanism to combat tropical deforestation and
climate change. The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) will reduce
deforestation and forest degradation by compensating developing countries for
carbon dioxide reductions realized by maintaining their forests. Under the
FCPF, resources can be used in any new climate change regime negotiated after
2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends. Nine
developed countries and a non-governmental organization have already made
financial commitments to the FCPF totaling US$160 million. More
7. Debate on World Bank Conditionality Continues - During 2007, the World
Bank undertook a second review of its use of conditionality, examining all
Bank-financed loans approved during its 2007 fiscal year. The resulting report:
Conditionality in Development Policy Lending was discussed by the Board of
Executive Directors in December 2007. It also draws on a series of
consultations with governments, CSOs, and other stakeholders in IDA-eligible
countries. The 2007 report confirms that Bank support remains broadly
consistent with the good practice principles on conditionality introduced in
2005. The conditionality issue has sparked an intense debate with CSOs, several
of which have produced reports of their own. Of note are a recent report by
Eurodad and an interesting comparative analysis carried out by a researcher at
the University of Oslo on both the Bank and Eurodad reports. While pointing out
how complex and difficult conditionality is to track, this study also
welcomes the increased CSO monitoring of these policies. Eurodad's analysis
of the report
---------------------------------
NEWS FROM THE WORLD BANK'S REGIONAL DEPARTMENTS
**************************************************
Africa
US$50 Million Funding Initiative to Eliminate River Blindness in Africa - The
World Bank and Merck & Co., Inc., announced on December 4 an initiative to
raise US$50 million to help eliminate river blindness, a leading cause of
preventable blindness, in 28 African countries. Merck has pledged up to $25
million. The World Bank will work with Merck and other partners to raise the
remaining $25 million. This new funding will supplement the $20 million already
raised by the Bank from international partners, for a total of $70 million to
support the program through 2015. Merck joined the fight to eliminate the
disease in 1987 by announcing it would donate its medicine MECTIZAN for as long
as necessary. In 1995, the World Bank together with the WHO, NGOs, foundations
and other donors established the African Program for Onchocerciasis Control
(APOC) to oversee successful delivery of MECTIZAN through community-directed
treatment programs in the 19 non-West African countries
affected by river blindness. More
**************************************************
East Asia and the Pacific
World Bank Assisting China in Its Search for Clean, Renewable Energy - Energy
consumption in China grew at nearly 10 percent per year between 2000 and 2005,
more than twice the yearly rate of the previous two decades. This sudden surge
in energy consumption, forced China to increase its reliance on coal-fired
power to almost 70 percent of its energy needs. Chinas CO2 emissions nearly
doubled in the last 6 years, at a time of rising concern about climate change
around the world. With support from the World Bank, China has been seeking
innovative ways to develop clean energy and energy efficiency for the last 10
years. "China and The World Bank: A Partnership in Innovation" is the Bank's
new report that documents more than 35 case studies that show how China blends
international good practice in development with the Chinese context. One case
study in the report shows how China used World Bank knowledge to build a market
for solar photovoltaic and wind energy technologies
almost from scratch. More
**************************************************
Europe and Central Asia
New Partnership Strategy For Bosnia-Herzegovina - On December 14, the World
Bank Board of Executive Directors endorsed a new Country Partnership Strategy
(CPS) for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) outlining its cooperation with the
country over the next four years. The new CPS for BH outlines a lending program
of about US$ 200 million in support of the countrys priorities. This program
will be further supported by about US$200 million available under projects that
have already been approved. The Bank Group has played a significant role in the
development story of BH with commitments totaling more than $1.1 billion IDA
credits and grants since 1996 and nearly $250 million original commitments from
IFC and about $310 million in guarantees from MIGA. The World Bank current
portfolio consists of 16 active projects totaling US$301 million.
More
New Partnership Strategy For Ukraine - The World Banks Board of Executive
Directors on December 6 endorsed a new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for
Ukraine covering the period of 2008-2011. The strategy proposes a lending range
of US$ 2-6 billion over four years, with annual lending levels modulated by a
series of performance benchmarks, including progress in structural reforms,
macroeconomic stability and improvements in the implementation of existing
World Bank loans. In addition, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will
continue to invest significant resources to support the private sector in
Ukraine. Governance and Anti-Corruption efforts will cut across the CPS which
emphasizes the importance of strengthening the demand for good governance by
working with a broad group of stakeholders. More
**************************************************
Latin America and the Caribbean
World Bank Supports Nicaraguas Cash Buy-Back Offer for External Commercial
Debt - The World Bank Group on December 5 welcomed the announcement that the
government of Nicaragua and its creditors have agreed to a cash buy-back of
more than US$1.3 billion of the countrys commercial external debt. This
announcement is a major step forward under a US$1.4 billion cash buy-back offer
being implemented with the support of a grant of up to US$61 million from WBs
Debt Reduction Facility (DRF). DRF provides grants to Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPCs), to buy back - at a deep discount - the debts owed to
external, commercial creditors. It also finances the legal and financial advice
needed to implement such buybacks. By reducing sovereign debt burdens, the DRF
facilitates the improvement of debt relief burden sharing by creditors under
the HIPC Initiative and helps countries normalize their external financial
relations. More
**************************************************.
Middle East and North Africa
World Bank Group Pledge and Statement at Palestinian Donor's Conference -
World Bank Managing Director participated in the Palestinian Pledging
Conference in Paris on December 17, and expressed support for the Palestinian
Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). The World Bank has been present in
Palestine since 1994 and has to date committed $532 million to 37 projects
while leveraging close to $1 billion of donor funds for its operations. The
Banks current portfolio of 11 projects has disbursed 50% of its current $118
million commitments, with the remainder of $58 million to be disbursed over the
first two years of the PRDP period (2008-2009). The Banks future assistance
program will be tailored to support the PRDP, and will include lending and
non-lending services and technical assistance. More
2007 Youth and Development Forum - The Business Federation (CGEM) and the
World Bank, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development, family
and solidarity organized on December 12-13, last phase of the program "Youth
and Development", in Casablanca, Morocco. The Forum was open to all development
and youth NGOs and provided a platform for dialogue and exchange between CSOs,
youth and the private sector. The Forum's 2007 main objective was to facilitate
the meeting between enterprises and CSOs to finalize the projects selection and
financing process. After the successful 2006 edition, this year the Forum will
support, once again, innovative local development initiatives which involve
youth as partners and actors for change. More
**************************************************
South Asia
South Asia Regional Development Marketplace - Following the success of
country-based Development Marketplaces in India, Pakistan, and Nepal, the World
Banks South Asia Region and partners are organizing a region-wide Development
Marketplace (DM) that includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The theme of the event is Tackling HIV/AIDS Stigma and
Discrimination: From Insights to Action. The objective of the South Asia DM is
to identify and fund innovative approaches for how to reduce stigma and
discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in the region. Applications from
interested organizations are accepted through the end of January, 2008. More
Unprecedented Support Package to Nepal - On December 6 the World Bank
approved its largest ever support package to Nepal with US$253 million in
grants designed to improve access to basic and primary education, enhance
irrigation, expand rural roads, and improve living conditions, livelihoods, and
empowerment among the rural poor. The new support package doubles the amount
of development resources currently available from the Bank to Nepal. The
briefing to members of the World Bank Board of Executive Directors in
Washington DC follows consultations in Kathmandu on November 8, 2007 between
senior managers and staff of the South Asia Region of the World Bank and a wide
range of Nepalis, including politicians, senior government officials,
development partners, and representatives from civil society, the private
sector and the media.
More
---------------------------------
NEW PUBLICATIONS FROM THE WORLD BANK
International Comparison Program Preliminary Global Report Compares Size of
Economies - The International Comparison Program (ICP) released on December 17
new data showing the world economy produced goods and services worth almost $55
trillion in 2005 and that almost 40 percent of the worlds output came from
developing economies. Carried out with the World Bank and other partners, the
preliminary global report provides estimates of internationally comparable
price levels and the relative purchasing power of currencies for 146 economies.
The global report brings together the results of the International Comparison
Program and the Eurostat-OECD PPP program. More
Remittance Flows to Developing Countries to Reach $240 billion in 2007,
Predicts World Bank - Remittances to developing countries will reach an
estimated $240 billion in 2007, according to new data released today by the
World Bank. The brief, Remittance Trends 2007, goes on to say that the true
size of remittances including unrecorded flows is even larger. The release was
timed to coincide with a November 28-30 G8 Outreach meeting on remittances in
Berlin. The brief describes broad regional and country specific trends in
remittance flows worldwide, and highlights some structural changes that will
affect future flows. More
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
The Newsletter is produced by the Civil Society Team of the World Bank (WB)
in collaboration with other WB units. This newsletter highlights some of the
many policies, programs, and initiatives of the WB which may involve or be of
interest to CSOs. We welcome your comments and feedback to make this newsletter
as useful as possible. You can subscribe to the Newsletter using a new
registration page: http://www.worldbank.org/civilsocietyengagementnewsletter/ .
Please share your comments on the Newsletter with us: [EMAIL PROTECTED] All
past issues of the Newsletter can be found on the WB site on Civil Society
Engagement at: http://www.worldbank.org/civilsociety.
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
---------------------------------
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