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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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.
Cameroon - The National Agricultural Extension and Research Program Support Project

(Washington, DC, 2006-12) World Bank

The National Agricultural Extension and Research Program Support Project of Cameroon undertook to finance - jointly with the government, IFAD, and AfDB - implementation (2001-2004) of the national agricultural extension policy and agricultural research in Cameroon as follows : competitive research grants (IDA); linkages between agricultural research and extension (IFAD); and on-station agricultural research ( AfDB). While providing services to all farmers, the project sought to prioritize resource-poor farmers, and women farmers. This project was a follow-on intervention to the National Project for Agricultural Extension (PNVA).
Ghana : The Village Infrastructure Project

(Washington, DC, 2006-09) World Bank

The project, with an IDA credit of US$30 million, and a total of $60 million was implemented by the government between 1998 and 2004. It was jointly financed by KFW $7m; IFAD, $10; GoG $7.1m; District Assemblies $3.0m and beneficiaries $2.9m. Its main objective was to support the government's efforts to reduce poverty and enhance the quality of life of the rural poor through the increased transfer of technical and financial resources for the development of basic village-level infrastructure that could be maintained by the beneficiaries. It also supported the capacity building of District Assemblies to better plan and manage these investments. The project had 4 components: (i) Rural water infrastructure; (ii) Rural transport infrastructure; (iii) Rural post-harvest infrastructure; and (iv) Institutional strengthening.
Senegal - Sustainable and Participatory Energy

(Washington, DC, 2006-03) World Bank

The Sustainable and Participatory Energy Management project - PROGEDE was implemented by the government between 1997 and 2004. From project preparation to supervision the World Bank worked in close collaboration with Dutch Co-operation (DGIS). At the time of project preparation, forest-based traditional fuels (firewood and charcoal), mainly used for household cooking purposes, represented 53 percent of Senegal's final energy consumption, and 76 percent of charcoal consumption was in the principal urban areas. Over the years, the operation of the charcoal industry had resulted in (i) the gradual loss of forest cover (approximately 30,000 ha per year) and thus of the ecosystem's carbon sequestration capacity and biodiversity; (ii) the degradation of the rural environment (particularly soils); (iii) the impoverishment of the rural areas; (iv) an acceleration of rural exodus; and (v) a massive transfer of wealth from the rural communities to a few urban-based woodfuel traders.
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.
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).
Madagascar - Commercial agricultural promotion

(Washington, DC, 2000-09) World Bank

Commercial Agricultural Production (CAP) was a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded technical assistance project implemented by the US development consulting firm Chemonics International between 1994 and 1999. This brief presents major achievements of CAP, benefits achieved during the project's lifetime, CAP client's evaluation of its work, and future benefits from CAP.
Botswana: An Example of Prudent Economic Policy and Growth

(Washington, DC, 2000-06) World Bank

Botswana is one of a small group of countries in the contemporary era, virtually the only African country that has sustained rapid economic growth over an extended period. Over the past three decades, Botswana's real per capita income grew by more than 7 percent per annum, which is comparable to rates of growth achieved by countries like Korea and Thailand. Remarkably, this growth, facilitated by mineral wealth, led neither to isolated enclaves nor to profligate spending. Growth continued to be high as a result of structural change within the economy as the growth in the of mining and government sectors slackened. Botswana's record in human development is equally impressive, with one important exception, HIV infection. Major emphasis has been placed on providing basic education and primary health care throughout the country. Primary school enrolment has gone from 66,100 in 1966 to 319,000 in 1995, representing an average compounded growth rate of 5.4 percent per annum. Further, in recent decades, the gender balance has consistently involved greater than 50 percent female enrollment. Meanwhile, secondary school and university enrolment, from a much lower base, both grew at double digit growth rates.
Gender and Law in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa : The Role of the World Bank - Gender-Responsive Institutional, Policy and Legal/Regulatory Frameworks

(Washington, DC, 2000-03) World Bank

Law is society's institution which articulates rules to govern legal and non-legal institutions. Rules of legal institutions aim to protect the citizen against discretionary and arbitrary power, ensure equality with others and guarantee procedural fairness. Impartial administration of the law through independent accessible courts and a democratic process of law-making, defines and enforces the limits and powers of state institutions and sets out the scope of legitimate state intervention in the affairs of its citizens. To the extent that the rule of law accomplishes this, a neutral legal order exists, capable of supporting the competitive market economy in the following ways: a) ensuring predictability and security of property rights and transactions; b) limiting arbitrary and discretional rational power of the state and its agents; c) maintaining the independence of the judiciary and at the same time curtailing judicial activism; and d) limiting the retroactivity of rules of law. Because of the lack of a formalized private sector in Africa, in many countries the State plays a major role in economic activity; it may supercede or qualify the market. This makes it even more important that the law should emphasize fair and efficient administration.
Ghana - Women's Role in Improved Economic Performance

(Washington, DC, 1999-10) World Bank

The Government of Ghana's program to develop a gender strategy has been supported by the World Bank. This article is based on a Bank-assisted sector study, Ghana: gender analysis and policymaking for development. The Bank team worked closely with Ghanaian Ministries of Agriculture, Micro-finance, Education, and Health to identify gender issues and study feasible recommendations. Along with the government, a broad range of stakeholders participated in the study, including academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and women's groups. Through workshops and mission visits, four points of focus were identified for the study: agriculture, micro-enterprises, education, and health. Many of the stakeholders also emphasized the importance of strengthening Ghana's institutional capacity to develop and implement policies that adequately address gender concerns. The study focuses on two broad areas of gender-based differences and inequalities: the links between gender and economic productivity, and the development of human capital. In addition to the study described here, the Ghanaian government produced two policy documents from this study; both are now under final review within the government.