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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PREM Anchor Support to the Africa Region

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-04) Danny Leipziger

The goal of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Network is to shape policies and to help countries build successful national strategies for sustained, shared growth, and to strengthen partnerships at the country level for improved aid effectiveness. There is no region in which this goal is more challenging than in Africa. In support of the Africa Action Plan (AAP), the PREM Anchor has actively stepped up its support to the Africa Region (AFR) in fiscal year 2006 (FY06).As of the end of January 2006, Anchor staff had provided nearly 83 staff weeks in direct cross-support alone. Activities have included knowledge generation, high level policy support on missions, the development of toolkits and diagnostics to improve policy advice on growth strategies, among others. Most of this work has been provided on a demand driven basis, and PREM plans to continue providing such services subject to its budgetary and skills capacity. This note illustrates how the PREM Anchor's support to the PREM Anchor support to the AFR connects with the objectives of the AAP. The PREM Anchor is working closely with the AFR on ways to improve the results focus and analytical foundations of poverty reduction strategies (PRSs). A study is under way on the integration of PRS reporting and budget implementation covering eight African countries to improve existing reporting instruments and assess how to better align PRS reporting with budget reporting. Work is also under way to strengthen the quality of second generation PRSs and their relevance as a framework for scaling up and improving aid effectiveness.
Mozambique - Municipal Development Project

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-11) Mastri, Lawrence

The project was designed as a long-term capacity building and institutional development project utilizing a pilot funding program, Municipal Grant Fund (MGF), as the first stage of support for municipal infrastructure and services. The original four components included (a) Legal and Institutional Reform; (b) Municipal Capacity Building; (c) Municipal Grants; and (d) Project Management and Technical Assistance. The restructured project development objectives were to assist the Government of Mozambique to operationalize the legal, institutional and fiscal framework for municipal governance; develop a sustainable training and technical assistance system and increase the capacity of municipality officials and personnel; and establish an operating mechanism for providing grants to municipalities through a pilot program in eight cities to finance capital investments for municipal capacity building and infrastructure. Some of the lessons learned are as follows: (a) The design of a project and in particular of a pilot program should be simple and within the capacity of the staff and agencies responsible for its implementation. (b) Team leaders from government and Bank project teams must develop strong working relationships built on effective communication so that both organizations are working toward the same objective.
Ghana : The AIDS Response Project (GARFUND)

( 2007-05) Mohan, P. C.

The specific objectives of this project - financed through an IDA credit of $28.7 million (2002-05) - were to: provide resources that would enable the government to implement a balanced, diversified multi-sector response, engaging all relevant government sectors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and grassroots initiatives; to expand contributions made by the Ministry of Health ( MOH ) engage civil society in the fight against AIDS; and finance eligible activities conducted by civil society organizations, including NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), trade and professional associations, associations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), districts, and line ministries to ensure a rapid multisector scaling-up of HIV prevention and care activities in all regions and at all administrative levels.
Five Key Messages : Recommendations for Capacity Development in Africa

(Washington, DC, 2006-02) Madavo, Callisto

A Task Force was set up to recommend changes in the way the Bank affects African capacity, both directly through operations aimed at capacity development, and indirectly through the way it conducts its overall business of development lending and cooperation in Africa. Key messages are emerging, which can inform and stimulate the efforts of all parties in capacity development on the continent-African countries, external partners, and the Bank. The Task Force regards these as a work in progress around which further discussion and reflection are on-going. The five key messages are: 1) capacity is the missing link in Africa's achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); 2) capacity development aims at an effective state, and an engaged society; 3) Africans must take the lead in capacity development and aid management; 4) external partners must engage existing capacity in all African countries; and, 5) achieving capacity outcomes requires independent monitoring. A renewed compact will require the commitment of African leaders and their development partners, to address capacity development more strategically, systematically, and boldly. It will require a frank and comprehensive assessment dealing with the real constraints to building capacity. It will require using and retaining capacity effectively. It will require analytical and financial support for homegrown strategies for capacity development. And it will require the evolution of modalities and practices for partners to support the development of country capacities.
Benin - Transport Sector Investment Program

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-12) Mohan, P.C.

The objectives of this project (1997-2001) using $40 million of IDA funds were to: (i) safeguard the competitiveness of Benin's transport sector and of its transit corridor through open modal competition; (ii) improve government's capacity for planning, programming and managing transport sector investments; (iii) boost the allocation of resources to infrastructure maintenance; (iv) boost the recovery of user infrastructure charges; (v) expand private sector participation in public works and maximize its impact on the creation of jobs for unskilled labor; (vi) build capacity in sector institutions and optimize human resource utilization; and (vii) protect the environment and improve safety conditions.
Mauritania - Enhanced National Capacity in Telecommunications Sector Reforms

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-04) Govindan G. Nair

Mauritania's 1998-2001 telecommunications reforms resemble many World Bank supported reform programs where overcoming capacity constraints can determine success in achieving development outcomes. Overcoming capacity constraints enabled this desert nation of over 2 million largely nomadic inhabitants to attain unanticipated levels of outcomes in three years of telecommunications reforms. New private investment of US$ 100 million in telecommunications was attracted over two years, equivalent to 10 percent of GDP; telephone line access multiplied twenty-fold; 6,000 new telecommunications-related jobs were created in the informal sector in the capital city (Noukachott) alone; and a multisector regulatory agency was established which is now regarded as a model in Africa. From lacking critical skills at the outset of these reforms, Mauritania became a source of lessons for neighboring countries on how to competitively tender utility licenses, effectively regulate utilities in a competitive setting, and privatize a telecommunications operator. Support for this capacity enhancement came from relatively modest external assistance with an estimated cost of slightly over one million dollars (World Bank Group staff time as well as consultancy support).
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.
Capacity Building in Africa : The Role of International Financial Institutions

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-12) Nsouli, Saleh M.

The note looks at the interrelation of three essential components to economic development: capacity building - the development of skills and institutions; good governance; and, economic reform, the two other components which cannot be implemented without well-functioning institutions. It further reviews the rationale and evidence of institutional capacity building, because it provides the framework within which people, and firms participate in the economy. Most importantly, the different specific objectives of international financial institutions are examined, first in their support to investments, e.g., infrastructure and capacity building within an adjustment program; second, in the achievement of economic and social policy; and, third, in encouraging economic development, and business practices, through training, and collaborative efforts. The note specifically reviews the support provided by the International Monetary Fund, which includes capacity building towards enhancing economic expertise, through technical assistance, and training, and, advisory and consulting aid. Effective market-supported institutions of economic management, are indispensable to the economic development process, thus international financial institutions need to formulate approaches to capacity building.
Child Labor in Africa : Issues and Challenges

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-11) Andvig, Jens ; Canagarajah, Sudharshan ; Kielland, Anne

How serious is the issue of child labor in Sub-Saharan Africa? Many African experts consider it to be no problem, while others believe it to be more serious than anywhere else in the world. A cursory glance at the statistics supports either view. ILO data indicate that more than 40 percent of African children work--almost twice as many as in Asia. On the other hand, household surveys suggest that over 95 percent of child labor takes place in and around private households. African society places a high value on children working at home or the family farm. This is not seen as "harmful" or as a welfare issue--a view opposed by many Western countries. This article explores the normative and factual basis for the different perceptions of child labor in Africa, and provides grounds effective social protection policies. Both welfare economic research and findings of sociological and anthropological studies have been reviewed.
Mozambique : Capacity Building for Integrated Coastal Zone Management

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-08) Mohan, P.C.

The coastal zone of Eastern Africa includes the coastal lowlands from Sudan to South Africa, the nearshore islands off the coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique, and the oceanic islands of Madagascar, the Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius, and Reunion. In some of the countries of the sub-region, at least 80 percent of the population can be considered coastal. Overexploitation of coastal and marine resources and the degradation of the resource base could significantly limit the sub-region's potential for sustainable economic growth and development. In 1997, the Secretariat for Eastern African Coastal Area Management was launched in Maputo, Mozambique, to assist countries in the East African Region to coordinate and implement Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) activities. Capacity building and the need for enhanced information sharing were seen as critical issues. Critical skills that needed to be built up included techniques for problem solving, strategic planning, project/program monitoring and evaluation, and conflict resolution. In mid-1998, an Institutional Development Fund Grant for US$396,000 from the World Bank was provided for promoting Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the sub-region. Technical assistance, training, and equipment were provided to build capacity, particularly at the provincial and local levels where capacity is virtually non-existent. This Note summarizes the impact on the ground and the lessons learned from such implementation.