Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs

415 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9389

These briefs report on ongoing operational, economic, and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region.

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Burundi - Investing in Leadership Development through the Rapid Results Approach

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-08) World Bank

The government of Burundi appealed to the World Bank Institute (WBI) for help in strengthening the capacities of leadership to implement policies and programs that would achieve measurable results. The new government needed to make tough decisions on competing priorities, including allocating an estimated US$12 billion to achieve the millennium development goals, and carrying out reforms to ensure efficient allocation of public resources. The government understood it would need to invest in leadership development in order to drive change at the institutional level and achieve results, and that this would require more than the traditional classroom method of leadership training. Instead, the following approaches were needed: 1) training programs adapted to the needs of leaders; 2) a learning-by-doing approach to capacity development; and 3) a participatory approach to action planning, work planning, and defining modalities for resource management.
Enticing Investors : To Make a Serious Dent in Poverty, Africa Must Attract More Foreign Capital

(Washington, DC, 2007-06) World Bank

The nearly 750 million people who live in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are among the world's poorest. To foster the economic growth required to create jobs, raise living standards, and hasten development, SSA nations need to attract more foreign capital, which, by enhancing imported technology and the transfer of know-how, has proved instrumental in raising productivity in many countries.
Malawi : Some Targeting Methods in Public Works Programs

(Washington, DC, 2006-10) World Bank

Community Based Targeting (CBT) and self-targeting are the two main methods used in the largest programme of Public Works. This note assesses and compares the effectiveness and efficiency of these targeting methods in identifying the poor in Public Works Programmes funded by MASAF and CARE in Malawi's Central Region. It further seeks to identify challenges that hinder the effectiveness of these methods.
Tanzania - Urban Sector Rehabilitation

(Washington, DC, 2006-01) World Bank

The Urban Sector Rehabilitation Project (URSP) consisted of a large program of infrastructure rehabilitation works and institutional reform activities covering 8 project towns - Arusha, Iringa, Morogoro, Mbeya, Moshi, Mwanza, Tabora and Tanga. Additional investments in Dodoma and Dar-essalaam were, in comparison, of limited scope and complexity. The project with a Credit of US$ 141.3 million equivalent was implemented by the government between 1997 and 2004. The project objectives were sustainable economic development and urban poverty alleviation through: (i) rehabilitation of basic infrastructure and expansion into high-priority, underserved areas; and (ii) improvement of urban local government management and financing capacity by (a) strengthening the financial, technical and overall operations of the urban local authorities through training and technical assistance; and (b) encouraging private sector and community involvement in urban services delivery and operation and maintenance.
Eritrea - Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) on HIV/AIDS

(Washington, DC, 2004-06) World Bank

In January 2003, the Eritrean Ministry of Health prepared a National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS for 2003-2007. In an effort to boost progress in the Community Managed Response (CMR) component of the plan, the government and the World Bank explored the rapid results approach to accelerate the number of community project proposals. The initiative was launched in Asmara on February 24, 2003 through a two day workshop. Specific 100-day goals were agreed upon, self selected teams were assembled, and leadership and resource structures of support and accountability were established. At the conclusion of the workshop the participants agreed on four major areas to focus their initial actions: (a) voluntary counseling and testing, (b) school prevention, (c) behavioral change, and (d) home-based care.
Uganda : Policy, Participation, People

(Washington, DC, 2002-08) World Bank

When the government of President Museveni assumed power in Uganda in 1986, it took over a shattered postwar economy. Market-oriented reforms led to a remarkable recovery. International Development Association (IDA) operations in Uganda initially tackled economic recovery, rehabilitation, and stabilization, then turned slowly to institutional and private sector development as the country stabilized. Since 1995, IDA has focused on poverty reduction and social progress. An OED (Operations Evaluation Department) assessment of IDA assistance to Uganda during 1987-99 found that IDA has excelled at policy dialogue, economic and sector work (ESW), and fostering participatory processes; had signal success in mobilizing resources and debt relief; and broadened the stakeholder dialogue on aid coordination. There is room for improvement, however, in some aspects of project implementation. The Bank and other donors were involved on a very high plane in Uganda, and important successes were achieved, partly because of the government's strong political leadership, its eagerness to learn from experience, its good use of technical assistance in core government agencies, and its recognition of the need to deepen its commitment and broaden the ownership of reform.
Zimbabwe : Personal and Institutional Safety Nets - The Long-Term Consequences of Failure

(Washington, DC, 2002-04) World Bank

The note looks at the evidence from the Zimbabwe drought in 1994-95, and points at the effects of weather-related shocks (although often other shocks as well can drastically affect incomes), of which not all households can smooth consumption as desired. Rather, many households maintain consumption only at the expense of their long-term income possibilities - e.g., by selling off productive assets, or by reducing investments in the health or education of their children. Unfortunately, while this recuperation can be rapid for households who retained their breeding stock, those who lost their breeding stock undergo hardship in restocking their herds. This implies a barrier to economic development of the very poor, which of course also includes poor nutritional status of children, and increased child mortality rates. Of particular concern is the inadequate utilization of credit and insurance, as well as the reliability on social assistance. The note outlines the extreme effects of such weather shocks in the country, specifying results for children's development, schooling, and/or delayed entrance to school, as a consequence of nutritional gaps, preventable provided personal and institutional safety nets are effective.
Ghana : Tracking Public Resource Flows in Schools and Clinics

(Washington, DC, 2002-04) World Bank

An accurate estimate of public expenditure flows must start from the distribution and recording systems which would permit accurate tracking. While the strategies to improve these systems in Ghana are beyond the scope of this study, it presents here the problems encountered while trying to track public expenditures. Hopefully, this will provide an entry point for relevant parties to discuss the best ways to increase the efficiency of public expenditure distribution. Estimated resource flows are also presented. Although the accuracy of estimates is not claimed in absolute terms, the patterns of the public expenditure distribution revealed by these estimates were consistent with the perceptions of district level education and health officers, to whom these results were presented at a workshop in Ghana.
Tanzania : Women in the Mining Sector

(Washington, DC, 2001-08) World Bank

The Government of Tanzania has, in recent years, focused on revitalizing its mining sector in order to attract foreign investment, with the goal of raising its contribution to Tanzania's Gross Domestic Product. With the support from the World Bank through the Mineral Sector Development Project (MSDP), the legal and fiscal regimes were revised and an environmental framework was put in place. As the growth of the small scale mining sub-sector continues, so do the challenges. This Notes discusses the obstacles faced by Tanzanian women and introduces the work of a women's nongovernmental organization -- Tanzania Women Miners Association (TAWOMA).
Nigeria - Innovative Training for the Improved Delivery of Water

(Washington, DC, 2000-06) World Bank

The primary objectives of the World Bank-assisted six-year Nigeria National Water Rehabilitation Project (NWRP) are a reliable supply of good quality water, and increased revenue for the country's state water agencies. Nearly 250 urban water systems are being restored to original design capacity. Prior to the start of the project in 1992, many water meters had quit working, valves controlling pipe networks were often faulty, treatment of water was uneven, leaks were often not adequately located and repaired, a number of pumps were not pumping, boreholes were silting up or becoming polluted. All of these deficiencies added up to water systems delivering below design capacity, which in turn resulted in unreliable delivery of water to customers, and revenue often inadequate to enable water agencies to meet basic operational needs, including maintenance of physical assets. The NWRP has effectively changed this situation through an innovative outreach training strategy, an intrinsic part of the institution building and training component which accounted for $ 13 million out of the total project cost of $ 306 million.