Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs

415 items available

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https://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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Ethiopia - The Gilgel Gibe Resettlement Project
(Washington, DC, 1999-08) World Bank
The development plan of the Federal Government of Ethiopia emphasized low-cost energy supply as a prerequisite to the enhancement of industrial and economic development for the period 1984-1993. Current power planning studies have estimated Ethiopia's hydropower potential at 30,000 MW, which greatly exceeds foreseeable domestic demands. Presently, only 1 percent of the potential is utilized. The government has therefore initiated the implementation of the Gilgel Gibe hydroelectric power plant to enhance industrial development and increase its national income through export sales of surplus energy to neighboring countries. The World Bank-assisted Ethiopia Second Energy, projected to end in the year 2000 will help to realize this objective. The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) will implement the construction of the power plant, whose reservoir will cover an area of 6200 ha, necessitating land acquisition and involuntary resettlement. An environmental assessment (EA) including a social assessment was carried out and a resettlement action plan (RAP) designed to address the adverse social impacts presumed to be linked to the building of the reservoir. The reservoir as well as the resettlement site are located in the Oromia Region under the Jima zone administration. The host population and the resettled population are both Oromo and of Moslem faith. The main economic activity of the population is agriculture and animal husbandry.
Informatics and Social Action Funds in SubSaharan Africa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1999-05) Pidatala, Krishna; Raheem, Ghazali
The note outlines the impact of three of the largest Bank-assisted social action funds in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the role the informatics component of each of these funds (Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zambia), played in the dynamics of project implementation. Lessons highlight the significance of informatics as a development tool, particularly in the design, and implementation of social funds. However, due to the diverse geographical nature of these social action funds, technical expertise was spread too thin at the regional levels, contributing to ineffective results in information technology, consequently with increased costs in time, and resources.
Ethiopia - Two Microfinance Delivery Programs
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1999-04) Muntemba, Shimwaayi
Formal financial institutions in Ethiopia have traditionally focused on the accessible urban towns leaving rural areas, where the majority of the population resides, without access to financial services. Recognizing this problem, a number of development agencies such as Redd Barna and World Vision started to provide access to financial services to the poor in rural areas in the 1980s. They undertook income generation programs by forming saving and credit schemes. Credit to the rural poor was provided in the form of grants, and agricultural inputs. Women were the primary targets of these programs. This study summarizes the findings of action research conducted on microfinance institutions in Ethiopia, with focus on the performance of Redd Barna and on Irish Aid-supported program. Action research facilitates the exchange of information on innovations and experiences so that other micro-finance institutions may learn from each other's mistakes and replicate best practices. The extended study on which this article is based addresses their mode of operation, organization, legal framework, as well as the financial and non-financial services they offer. The focus in on one urban and two rural and savings and credit schemes.
Gender and Law : Eastern Africa Speaks
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1999-01) Gopal, Gita; Adu, Elizabeth
Gender issues, particularly with respect to women's status and rights, have for a considerable period, been in the forefront of donors' dialogue on social issues with Africa. While Africa countries have fully acknowledged the seriousness of the issues and the urgent need for action, the dialogue has been largely donor-driven and issues and priorities been donor-set. Recognizing the need for a new approach in this important area for Africa's progress, the Bank, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa, initiated a Gender and Law Program, in October 1997, at a Conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Program shifts responsibility for identification and implementation of themes, issues, and priorities to in-country stakeholders rather than with donors. During the Conference, each country delegation voiced its priorities for change. The issues included land-related challenges, family law, violence against women, employment and labor, and decentralized governance frameworks. Land and the division of household property are prime areas where gender-based disparities marginalize and disenfranchise women of Eastern Africa. In an effort to improve women's social and economic life, two main themes emerged: the impact of customary laws and practices and the need for effective implementation. The delegates emphasized the need to initiate action for change at grassroots, institutional, and policy making levels.
Gender Issues in Ethiopia : Implementing the National Policy on Women
(Washington, DC, 1998-09) World Bank
The National Policy on Women (Women's Policy) formulated in 1993, aimed to create appropriate structures within government offices and institutions to establish equitable and gender-sensitive public policies. The Government of Ethiopia in 1995, under its new constitution, renewed its commitment towards this policy. The government initiated an ambitious and extensive process of regionalization, whereby new regional boundaries were demarcated and administrative powers devolved to regional governments which were authorized to implement all development policies. This represented a departure from the earlier practice of centralized project management by ministries. This more participatory and decentralized form of governance made the implementation of the national policy a more challenging endeavor. There was correspondingly a great need to build the delivery capacity of the regional governments. While the central level of government promoted gender-sensitive policies and development interventions, very little was known about the constraints and issues at the regional levels.