Vietnam: Emergency Credit of $5 Million Supports
Control over Avian Influenza Epidemic
Hanoi Aug 4: The World Bank's Board of Directors
yesterday night approved a US$5 million emergency credit to
support Vietnam's National Action Plan for the control of the
avian influenza epidemic.
The Vietnam Avian Influenza Emergency Recovery
project aims at a threefold target: (a) to strengthen disease
surveillance and diagnostic capacity in the control of highly
pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI); (b) to strengthen the poultry
sector infrastructure to better cope with serious disease outbreaks;
and (c) to safeguard human health by improving public awareness
and information.
The recent avian influenza epidemic has been
a financial disaster for Vietnam's commercial poultry industry
and has also affected the livelihood of millions of small-holder
poultry-keepers. Of a total of around 12 million farming households
it is estimated that over 70% keep poultry, constituting an
especially important source of household cash income, especially
for women.
"The recent epidemic clearly revealed the
inadequacy of veterinary and extension services to cope with
an animal health epidemic of this nature," said Martin
Rama, Acting Country Director of the World Bank in Vietnam.
"The project will provide much needed technical advice
to the Government on the strategy it should follow to recover
from the present crisis and for the future control of avian
influenza epidemics."
The main benefits to the national economy would
be the restoration of productive assets and economic activities,
mainly in rural areas, through: (a) the rehabilitation of the
poultry sub-sector which was severely affected by the epidemic;
(b) the strengthening of Vietnam's animal disease surveillance
system, both public and private, and diagnostic capacity, to
identify at the earliest time new HPAI outbreaks; and (c) the
provision of information on infectious animal disease outbreaks
and advice on animal health and safety to extension staff, poultry
producers and the general public.
The project will benefit poultry farmers and
traders who lost their poultry or ducks as the result of the
avian influenza epidemic. The project will also help protect
other farmers against such losses in future.
"The project supports the first phase of
a longer-term program aimed at restructuring Vietnam's poultry
sub-sector and strengthening the veterinary services system
to deal with other potentially destructive infectious disease
outbreaks. It will therefore serve as a pioneering effort to
evaluate the methodologies most suitable for emergency preparedness
and longer-term intervention," noted Rama.
The total cost of the project is estimated to
be US$6.20 million, of which the World Bank contribute US$5
million of IDA emergency credit, FAO would finance US$0.55 million,
mainly for technical assistance and training, and the Government
put forward US$0.65.
The International Development Association (IDA)
Credit is being extended at standard IDA terms, with a 40-year
maturity and a 10-year grace period. -Keralamonitor.com
World Bank Group Board Agrees Way Forward on Extractive Industries
Review
Washington Aug 3: The Board of the World Bank
Group considered on Tuesday management's response to the Extractive
Industries Review and internal reports on the Bank's Group's
investments in the extractive industries - oil, gas, and mining
- and broadly agreed that it represented a balanced way forward
for the Bank Group.
"The proposals of management are built
around the central theme that our investments and policy advice
in the extractive industries should benefit the poor first and
foremost," said James D. Wolfensohn, Chairman and President
of the World Bank Group.
Board consideration of the management response
is the culmination of a wide-ranging process of review that
included multiple in-depth, independent technical reviews (see
links below), project site visits, and a series of conferences
around the globe to solicit the views of stakeholders in government,
industry, civil society, and local communities.
Board members expressed a wide range of views
on specific issues in the draft management response and, in
response, management agreed to refine language on some issues
and submit a final version of the text in the next few weeks.
In addition, a Chairman's Summary of the Board discussion will
be released.
"The role played by the stakeholder process
led by Dr. Emil Salim was valuable in shaping our thinking and
has contributed to global dialogue on extractive industries"
Wolfensohn said. "That dialogue has produced higher standards
on issues such as transparency, governance, local participation,
disclosure, protection of the environment, and promotion of
renewable energy."
Management, in its proposal to the Board, indicated
that it would continue investments in oil, gas, and mining production,
as these will continue to be an essential part of the development
of many poor nations. Management also noted that as countries
develop their resources, Bank Group capital and expertise can
help ensure such projects meet high environmental, social, and
governance standards, and that revenue from the projects is
used transparently and effectively.
"The harsh reality is that some 1.6 billion
people in the developing nations still do not have electricity,
and some 2.3 billion people still depend on biomass fuels that
are harmful to their health and the environment," Wolfensohn
said. "That underscores the need for our continued but
selective engagement in oil, gas, and coal investments."
"It is important to understand that the
various reports and the management response do not end with
today's meeting," Wolfensohn said. "We are engaged
in a process aimed at improving the situation of those in poverty
and ensuring that work with extractive industries and new initiatives
on renewable energy continue to be developed. The Bank Group
is committed to working with governments, the private sector,
and civil society to improve outcomes and ensure it maintains
its leadership role."
Management proposed, and the Board agreed, that
the Bank Group would have an annual review with the Board of
progress toward achievement of the objectives outlined in the
management response and to remain engaged with all stakeholders.
The central message of the reviews was that
while extractive industries investments can contribute to sustainable
development, the Bank Group should further enhance its efforts
in several areas: more explicitly identifying and tracking poverty
reduction associated with its projects, the overall quality
of governance in host countries, broader inclusion of local
stakeholders, transparency of revenue management and project
documents, and the promotion of renewable energy and cleaner
fuel alternatives.
Among the reforms proposed:
Poverty Alleviation: The Bank Group is to develop
new indicators of project-specific poverty reduction impacts,
identify such indicators prior to project approval, and track
progress against those indicators over the lifetime of a project.
Transparency: The World Bank Group has endorsed
the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and is actively
engaged with several developing nations - Nigeria, Azerbaijan,
and Kyrgyzstan, among others -- to develop a more systematic
approach to disclosure of revenues from extractive industries.
In addition, the Bank Group will begin requiring disclosure
of revenue figures for new major extractive industries projects
immediately, and for all projects within two years. Said Wolfensohn:
"We believe increased transparency to be absolutely essential
to improving poverty impact."
Governance: The World Bank Group is committing
to use explicit governance indicators - such as the quality
of fiscal management, transparency, and anti-corruption policies
- in determining whether to engage in extractive industries
projects and how such projects should be structured. In project
documents disclosed to the public, the Bank Group will describe
its governance assessment of a project.
Renewable Energy: Following on the renewable
energy conference held in Bonn, Germany earlier this year, "we
intend to take a leadership role on this issue and work with
stakeholders to ensure the renewable and energy efficiency agenda
is central to an environmentally sustainable energy policy,"
said Peter Woicke, Executive Vice President of the International
Finance Corporation. The World Bank Group will seek to scale
up its activities in this sector, and management has set an
initial target to increase its renewable energy and energy efficiency
portfolios by 20 percent annually over the next five years,
which will increase the level of investments in this sector
to more than $400 million per year. This target will be reviewed
on a regular basis.
Inclusion: The World Bank Group is to strengthen
its procedures for local community participation with respect
to extractive industries projects. The Bank Group will only
support projects where affected communities, including Indigenous
Peoples, are engaged through free, prior, and informed consultation,
leading to broad community support.
Sectoral Composition: The World Bank Group
will put an increased emphasis on the development of natural
gas and other cleaner fuel alternatives, and has committed to
working with stakeholders to update the Bank Group's renewable
energy strategy, expand capacity, and identify opportunities
for partnership. In addition, the Bank Group will put an increased
emphasis on working with local and regional companies.
Environmental and Social Issues: The World
Bank Group continues to refine and improve its approach to environmental
and social issues. The private-sector lending arm of the World
Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation, is currently
revising its environmental and social safeguards to improve
their clarity, accessibility, and implementation. In addition,
the Bank Group will immediately put in place a process to ensure
that the use of security forces to protect extractive industry
project sites is in line with best practices.
"Altogether, these reforms put the World
Bank Group at the forefront of the development community in
addressing the complex challenges associated with these projects.
It strikes a new and better balance in our approach, and we
intend to monitor implementation so this can be an ongoing learning
process," Wolfensohn said. -Keralamonitor.com
World Bank Supports Education Sector in Mauritania with US$15
Million Credit
Washington Aug 3: The World Bank Board of Executive
Directors Thursday approved an International Development Association
(IDA) credit* of US$15 million to support Mauritania's efforts
to improve education service delivery.
The Higher Education Project will improve the
quality of the learning environment and the relevance of education
courses to the labor market. It will establish pedagogic, administrative,
and financial management systems in the country's institutions
of higher education. It will also help the government to implement
its strategy of producing qualified graduates with the skills
needed for increased productivity and diversification of the
economy.
The first component of the project, which focuses
on enhancing the quality and relevance of higher education,
will contribute towards modernizing university education, making
it more relevant to the needs of Mauritania's economy. The project
will assist the university and institutions of higher education
in developing professional links with key employers in different
sectors of the economy. The latter will identify priorities
and offer advice on course content and objectives.
Under the new University Master Plan, the project
will finance the construction and equipment of a new central
library and distance learning center to serve as the focal points
for internet access and for university-wide dissemination of
information.
The second component will help implement the
new policy framework for higher education with an emphasis on
the transfer of autonomy to the university and other institutions
of higher education. Areas of support in autonomy administration
will provide strategic goal setting, budget planning and management,
educational programs, and personnel management.
Activities under the project will also include
"the training and upgrading of the skills of administrative
and managerial staff of institutions of higher education in
the areas of planning, student services, finance, and personnel
management," said Mercy Miyang Tembon, the World Bank Task
Team Leader for the project. "High priority will be given
to the development of new leaders at the rector and vice rector
levels and to the training of deans of faculty in academic planning
and human resource management. Special attention will be paid
to collaborative team work."
Poverty reduction and social development have
been a key part of the Mauritanian Government's economic development
strategy. The combination of economic growth and increased education
expenditures not only has improved access to basic and secondary
education but has also had a positive impact on social welfare
and significantly reduced poverty.
Between 1990 and 2000, the percentage of Mauritanians
living below the poverty line fell from 56.6 percent to 46.7
percent. Gross enrollment rates increased from 46.7 percent
in 1990/91 to 91.6 percent with near universal intake at the
primary level in 2002/03. Gross enrollment rates at the secondary
level rose from 14.7 percent to 24.5 percent during the same
period.
The credit is on standard International Development
Association (IDA) terms, with a commitment fee of 0.35 percent
and a service charge of 0.75 percent. The credit's period of
maturity is 40 years, including a 10-year period of grace. -Keralamonitor.com