Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes
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Publication
South Africa - Results-Based Financing and the Book Supply Chain: Motivating Writers and Publishers to Create Quality Storybooks
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12)Literacy serves as an essential building block for learning, so when children master reading, they are more likely to succeed in school generally. To support the South African government’s campaign to improve literacy rates and foster a love of reading among children, room to read implemented an initiative that included results-based elements to increase the availability of affordable, quality storybooks in African languages. The project brought together public and private sector players in the book supply chain to develop new national standards on storybooks and translations, and helped to identify and build capacity of smaller publishers and writers to publish African-language storybooks. In doing so, the project demonstrated how results-based financing can be effective in the production and procurement stages of the book chain in South Africa. Results-based financing motivated and engaged publishers and writers to participate and stay engaged in the two-year project, which armed them with the skills and knowledge they need to continue to create and publish quality storybooks on their own. The success of the South Africa project underscores the potential of using innovative models such as pooled procurement, open licensing, and one day one book workshops along with results-based financing to increase the availability of quality children’s books in a cost-efficient manner. By strengthening the book chain, the project ultimately helped to foster children’s love of reading and helped them to become better learners. -
Publication
Health Impact and Effectiveness of Distribution Models for Plastic Latrine Slabs in Kenya
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-03)Lack of sanitation is a huge development challenge in Kenya, but also a potentially sizeable market opportunity. The World Bank and IFCs ‘Selling Sanitation’ project worked with large plastics manufacturing firms in Nairobi to design, test, and support market development and distribution of a range of plastic latrine slabs. The products were designed from the consumer’s perspective using the Human-Centered Design approach and priced well below the cost of the prevailing concrete slab. This research brief summarizes baseline findings and monitoring results from an impact evaluation of the plastic latrine slab, evaluating its health impact and the effectiveness of niche distribution and financing mechanisms for reaching base-of-the-pyramid households. Baseline findings show that children in the study area suffer from high rates of diarrhea and many are underweight, but worm infections are rare. The majority of households at baseline had unimproved pit latrines with either no slab (49%), or a mud slab, and overall sanitation and environmental hygiene conditions are poor. Feedback on the plastic slab from monitoring visits is overwhelmingly positive, with respondents citing ease of cleaning, safety for children, and prestige. However several barriers to adoption were noted. Most participants perceive the slab as unaffordable for the target beneficiaries, while a lack of adequate follow-up and marketing from sales agents, and limited availability of the product in remote, rural villages are major obstacles to generating demand for the slab. Additional public sector resources will be needed to further support the development of distribution channels and financing mechanisms to reduce the price for base-of-the-pyramid households and increase adoption of the slab among target beneficiaries. -
Publication
Strengthening Regional Collaboration and Integration
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04)West Africa’s coastal area is critical to the region, home to a third of its people and the source of about half of its gross domestic product (GDP). Because most of it is composed of mangroves and sand formations, the area’s coastline is also highly vulnerable to erosion caused by coastal currents and storm surges. Erosion is evident from Mauritania to Gabon - and the rates of erosion are increasing. Around the port of Lome, for example, Togo’s coastline is estimated to have receded by as much as 12 to 15 meters a year. Regional integration will improve the sustainability of shared coastal waters, the protection of environmental services, and the livelihoods that rely on coastal ecosystems. Cooperation will also contribute to the development of regional principles or guidelines for coastal infrastructure investments. -
Publication
Reducing Marine and Coastal Pollution
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03)The West African coastline is home to major industries, mining activities, peri-urban and agro-industry, and tourism, as well as urban and seaside residences, all of which generate waste and cause pollution. Many areas along the coast also lack adequate wastewater and solid waste management systems. As a result, large volumes of untreated wastewater and solid waste are dumped into the open, polluting the land and water. Water quality studies can help policy makers set targets and baselines and develop pollution reduction plans at the local, national, and regional levels. Such studies generally focus on pollution from sewage/wastewater, nutrients, and marine litter; they may also include other pollutants, such as oil (spills from ships and offshore oil exploration and production), chemicals, and heavy metals. Reducing the generation of plastic debris requires collect¬ing data on the origin, volumes, and types of plastic litter, so that appropriate measures can be taken to reduce the use of, reuse, or recycle plastic products. -
Publication
Powering the Nile Basin
(World Bank, Entebbe, 2015-05-01)The Nile countries are endowed with substantial energy resources. Yet, these have not been fully tapped and several Nile countries have low levels of access to electricity. This note showcases the achievements made at the regional level to address this issue through cooperative projects of regional significance. These include projects that extend and link transmission lines to achieve interconnections, and ones that promote responsible development and generation of hydropower. The Nile basin initiative (NBI) has played a catalytic role in facilitating these projects, reducing power poverty, and increasing national energy security. -
Publication
Highlights of 15 Years of Nile Cooperation
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-05-01)In 1999, nine Nile basin countries came together in a remarkable partnership. They formed the Nile basin initiative as a platform for joint working to better understand and utilize the common Nile resource, to harness the benefits for equitable and sustainable regional economic development. This note highlights the key achievements of this historic endeavor. -
Publication
Benefits for Women in Nile Economic Development
(World Bank, Entebbe, 2015-05-01)Women and girls often risk being left behind in development, not being fully informed or involved in decision making about issues that can have a real impact on their lives. Sometimes, they are already disadvantaged by cultural and legal norms that affect their rights to resources. Working together to develop the Nile resource, the 10 countries involved in the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) are making it ‘business as usual’ to ensure gender equality in the economic benefits emerging from their shared efforts. -
Publication
Changing Lives in the Nile Basin
(World Bank, Entebbe, 2015-05-01)A remarkable program of cooperation in the Nile basin is bringing change to millions of people living in poverty. By promoting trust and cooperation between the 10 Nile countries, the Nile basin initiative (NBI) has enabled these countries to advance a shared vision for development of the region based on sustainable management and equitable use of the Nile water resources. Countries have come together to plan and implement development projects that are proving to be transformative in terms of food, water, and energy security - as well as improving the resilience of some of the poorest in society. Once implemented, these projects promise to benefit nearly 30 million people. -
Publication
Restoring the Nile Basin
(World Bank, Entebbe, 2015-05-01)Watershed management has come to be recognized as a critical issue in the Nile Basin. Upstream land use can cause degradation and soil erosion, resulting in lower agricultural yields locally and causing sedimentation downstream. The increased sediment load causes economic problems by reducing water quality, and irrigation and hydropower potential, as well as increasing flooding. This note shows how, through Basin-wide cooperation, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) has led efforts to address these problems, developing successful projects to deliver real results to restore the Nile. -
Publication
Reducing Flood Devastation in the Nile Basin
(World Bank, Entebbe, 2015-05-01)A regional cooperation effort coordinated by the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) has created a credible system that links multiple stakeholders to work together to address flooding and its impacts. The Flood Preparedness and Early Warning (FPEW) project that ran until 2010 operated in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan. It created a regional flood preparedness and early warning program which is ongoing, reducing the risk of flood devastation for over 2 million people in the region.