Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs

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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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  • Publication
    Senegal - Nutrition Enhancement Program (NEP) First Phase
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-07) Mohan, P. C.
    Findings Info briefs reports on Good Practice in ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. This issue looks at the Senegal: Nutrition Enhancement Program (NEP), first phase which was the first nutrition project in Sub-Saharan Africa to use the Adaptable Program Lending (APL) instrument for the design of the program. The three project components were (i) Community Nutrition and Growth Promotion; (ii) Capacity Building and Monitoring and Evaluation and (iii) Program Management. Project interventions were conducted in the 3 poorest rural regions of Senegal, and in 34 Health Districts selected on the basis of social indicators. This info brief reports on the project impacts as well as lessons learned.
  • Publication
    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.
  • Publication
    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.
  • Publication
    Sierra Leone - Community Reintegration and Rehabilitation
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-05) Mohan, P.C.
    The objective of the project (Credit of US$25 million from the World Bank over the period 2000-2003) was to support the peace process and expedite the return of stability to Sierra Leone through the support of two initiatives - one that helped reintegrate demobilized combatants into social and economic life and the other that sought to restore basic socioeconomic infrastructure and services in the communities most affected by the war. The successful implementation of the project was also a precondition for any other Bank investment in Sierra Leone.
  • Publication
    Madagascar - The Third Social Fund Project
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-03) Mohan, P.C.
    The project ($ 15 million plus another $18 million - 1999-2003 ) had four objectives: (i) improved access of poor rural populations to social and economic infrastructure; (ii) on a pilot basis, empowerment of poor rural communities and/or communes to identify, organize, manage funds and implement sub-projects responsive to community needs; (iii) employment creation; and (iv) increased capacity of the private sector, local small contractors, artisans, skilled labor, and NGOs. Madagascar was struck by a series of cyclones that damaged basic infrastructure over the first three months of 2000. As part of the multi-pronged approach to assist the country in its rehabilitation efforts, in July 2000, the World Bank's Board approved a Supplemental Credit of $18 million - there was no change, however, in the project's original objectives.
  • Publication
    Kenya - The Arid Lands Resource Management Project
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-02) Mohan, P.C.
    The project ( 1996-2001 - US$22 million credit ) was uniquely designed as a risk management instrument - it conceived the establishment of a viable, government-run system of drought management, through early warning systems, contingency plans, mitigation and quick response. The design also devolved responsibility to the district and community level, encouraging civil servants and other district development actors to empower local communities in the design and implementation of development projects. The project built on the experience of others before it such as the Netherlands-supported Drought Management Project ( DMP ) and subsequently, the Drought Preparedness, Intervention and Recovery Project ( DPIRP ). The IDA-financed Emergency Drought Recovery Project (EDRP ) also provided useful insights.
  • Publication
    Monitoring and Evaluation for Results : Lessons from Uganda
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-09) Hauge, Arild O.; Mackay, Keith
    Recent experience with monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in Uganda has shown how M&E can be developed to contribute to national capacity building, rather than become a demanding, but unproductive data collection exercise. Symptoms of M&E overload have been addressed by assigning coordination responsibility to the Office of the Prime Minister. Prospects are now improving for aligning M&E capacity with strengthening cost-effectiveness and achievement of value for money in service delivery.
  • Publication
    Mozambique - Improving the Quality of University Graduates
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-07) Mohan, P.C.
    In 1990, Mozambique had fewer than 3,000 university-trained persons. Less than 15 percent of civil service personnel had a university degree, and more than a third of civil servants had less than seven years of primary education. Highly trained and professionally experienced Mozambicans tended to gravitate towards the private sector. Consequently, the planning and management of both public and private sector activities were adversely impacted. This Infobrief focuses on the expansion in the quantity and improvement in the quality of university graduates, a specific objective of the World Bank-assisted Capacity Building: Human Resources Development project which was implemented between 1993 and 2001. The number of students graduating annually from UEM has increased five times during project implementation (1994-2001), from 148 in 1994 to 695 in 2000. The percentage of graduates who complete all degree requirements within the official prescribed time has increased from 5 percent in 1997 to 15 percent in 2000. The overall average examination pass rate has improved from 39 percent in 1994 to 53 percent in 2000. Under the project, 4,350 book titles were imported and 159 textbook titles were produced locally. While the targeted number of books distributed to each student was five, survey questionnaires to a sample of economics and engineering students found that each student had 7-10 books. Critical capacity building needs in the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) were addressed through a strategy based on linking with selected universities outside the country. Libraries and reading space serving the faculties of agriculture, architecture, economics, veterinary science and medicine were expanded. Overall, about 50 percent of the university infrastructure was rehabilitated as planned.
  • Publication
    Malawi - Lessons Learned From Public Works Programs
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-06) Mohan, P.C.
    In designing Public Work programs (PWPs), it is important to clarify whether the objectives are developmental or to deal with short-term shocks. PWPs make a significant contribution to sustained poverty reduction only when carefully designed to include a graduation strategy (e.g., economic activities training, savings and life skills training) or where continuity of employment is viable (e.g., financed through routine maintenance budgets). Programs lasting twelve months or more can allow for asset acquisition, training and higher risk economic activity. In this way, beneficiaries can begin to graduate out of PWP employment. Valuable assets have been created under PWPs, contributing to economic growth (environmental protection, access routes etc.). In Malawi, full cost recovery will not be possible for some time. It is therefore essential that PWPs budget for maintenance of such assets. PWPs are a valuable vehicle for developing capacity and empowering local government bodies in Malawi. Adequate provision must be made however, for local government administrative and supervision costs. PWPs are a means of skills transfer in participating communities. As a result, follow-on programs find residual knowledge and organizational capacity in place.
  • Publication
    The Eritrea Community Development Fund Project
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-10) Bradley, Marilou
    The Eritrea Community Development project was established to provide for poor communities especially in the rural and war-devastated areas. The project provided an important platform for harnessing local input in local development efforts, strengthened the capacity of communities to manage, and implement their own development priorities. The project supported better access to school facilities, health facilities, and health care services; increased access to safe water; and feeder roads increased access to rural communities, markets, and social services. The project supported community-based initiatives to protect and improve the environment. The project used loan funds to improve community livelihood, increase their self-confidence, and economic independence. The construction of market places provided access to the rural population, including urban dwellers, and veterinary clinics increased the access of households. The project developed human resources, expanded private sector employment and growth, and improved basic social and economic infrastructure. The project promoted local governance, transparency, accountability, local capacity building, and sustainability of local services.