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166 items available
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This is a regular series of notes highlighting recent lessons emerging from the operational and analytical program of the World Bank‘s Latin America and Caribbean Region (LAC)
Items in this collection
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Publication
The Agricultural Insurance Market in the Caribbean
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-03)Agricultural insurance is a tool to manage agricultural production risks and help producers reduce the effects of negative shocks and improve the allocation of resources. It provides a mechanism to transfer a variety of risks faced by crop, livestock, forestry, or aquaculture production. The small island nations of the Caribbean are highly exposed to tropical cyclones, hurricanes, and other weather hazards-and are particularly vulnerable to drastic losses from natural disasters. A single catastrophic event can affect a large proportion of clients, and this is often reflected in the insurance premiums charged by local insurance companies, especially if they only underwrite risk in one or a few neighboring islands (as is common in the Caribbean). To be able to pay many claims all at once, insurers must either purchase their own insurance (re-insurance), which is expensive, due to the high exposure to extreme weather events, or hold a large amount of cash reserves. The development of market-based agricultural insurance options in the Caribbean can range from regional and macro-level applications (sector, country, or groups of countries) to the micro-level (farmers). -
Publication
Agricultural Supply Chain Risk Assessment in the Caribbean
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-03)A rapid agricultural supply chain risk assessment, recently developed by the World Bank, constitutes a useful tool for a system-wide approach to identify risks, risk exposure, the severity of potential loses, and options for risk management either by supply chain participants (individually or collectively) or by third parties (government). Supply chain risk management is the systematic process of managing the most damaging events that can negatively affect the supply chain, and their likely incidence and impact(s). The proposed unit of analysis for risk and risk management assessment is the supply chain, logistics and communications are embedded in all these flows, and poor logistics and communications are often a major source of risk facing an agricultural supply chain. The agri-food system also includes farmers and a diverse range of firms, including backward-linked input suppliers and forward-linked intermediaries, processors, exporters, wholesalers, and retailers. -
Publication
Managing Agricultural Weather Risks in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-03)Agriculture plays an important role in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Most of its production depends on small family-owned farms, which are greatly exposed to climatic and price shocks. In order to help small farmers to manage risks, the federal and state governments have been carrying out several programs and measures to reduce and transfer agricultural risks. Santa Catarina ranks seventh out of 26 Brazilian states in terms of agricultural production. The states most important perennial crops are corn, soybean, tobacco, rice, beans, onions, and wheat. About 20 percent of the population lives in rural areas, of which some 90 percent are farmers. The most prominent climatic challenges are floods in the coastal region and droughts in the western plateau. Of these extreme weather events, floods are the most visible, because they receive widespread media coverage and sometimes cause deaths. However, drought poses a much more significant challenge to agricultural productivity. Given that most farms in Santa Catarina are small and that agricultural production is mainly rain fed, weather risks play a key role in the production variability and farmers income. In addition to government-funded preventive measures, farmers take other actions to protect themselves from weather risks. One traditional method is the diversification of income. Farmers in Santa Catarina often cultivate several crops with different growth and harvest cycles. When drought does occur it may damage some crops but it is unlikely to last long enough to affect all crops. Moreover, many farmers also farm animals, especially cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys as a savings mechanism against the whims of the weather. -
Publication
Governance of Multi-sectoral Interventions to Promote Healthy Living in Latin America and the Caribbean
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-01)The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has been experiencing a rapid demographic and epidemiological transition which has important health and economic consequences. Not only is the population aging rapidly, but it is also experiencing major changes in lifestyle. This has altered the disease and mortality profile, reflected in the increasing weight of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. These conditions also represent an increasing economic and development threat to households, health systems, and economies. The study also ranked tobacco use among the first five risk factors in LAC and alcohol abuse as the main risk factor in all sub-regions, with the exception of the Caribbean and southern LAC, where alcohol was ranked among the first five. However, voluntary actions are often ineffective and policymakers have replaced them with regulations. For example, in Europe, Canada, and the US, early voluntary nutrition labeling actions failed to meet government standards and expectations which led governments to use mandatory guidelines. In New York City, authorities encouraged restaurants to voluntarily provide easily-seen nutrition information to customers, but, as this did not occur, the City passed a regulation. In general, policymakers and health advocates often gauge and mobilize public opinion to support these health promotion policies and ensure their design and implementation. -
Publication
Improving Governance and Management of Health Systems : Partnerships and Observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-12)Public health observatories proactively investigate health issues to provide robust analytical evidence to policy makers. This type of organization has different characteristics from other public health institutions, such as information-gathering bodies, academic public health departments, or state employed public health practitioners. Governments in Latin America have also begun establishing regional, national, and provincial observatories. Some of the regional observatories provide comparisons of countries in the region in areas such as public health, human resources, food security, and nutrition. Regional and national health observatories have become important tools for governments and health ministries to support national strategic partnerships and to empower civil society, health sector stakeholders, and health sector authorities seeking to develop more effective and efficient health systems. Health observatories are therefore a key instrument for health systems to generate information, data, and intelligence on people's health status and the type and quality of health care delivery. By making all this information available to health providers and policy makers in a timely manner, the health observatories will ensure that their national health systems are results-oriented and engaged in a continuous process of improving quality and access. -
Publication
The Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 : Lessons from Argentina
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-12)The United Nations decade of action for road safety 2011-2020 sets an ambitious goal to stabilize and then reduce by half the predicted level of traffic fatalities in low and middle-income countries by 2020. This goal should save around 5 million lives, avoid 50 million serious injuries, and provide an economic benefit of more than US$3 trillion. Impacts on this scale will enhance country and regional development opportunities. In line with this goal, the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 identified five priorities: 1) road safety management capacity, 2) infrastructure safety, 3) vehicle safety, 4) road user behavior, and 5) post-crash care. This integrated development perspective is also reflected in the World Bank's new transport sector business strategy. The project's inclusive approach delivers road safety interventions in the demonstration corridors and elsewhere. -
Publication
MDGs 4 and 5 : Maternal and Child Health/Reproductive Health in LAC
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-06)The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region fares well on achievement of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets when compared with other regions, but the region has great disparities between and within countries on these goals. The region is also performing better than the rest of the developing world in relation to child mortality, having achieved more than 70 percent of the progress needed to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds. However LAC still faces serious challenges regarding maternal mortality, achieving good public and individual health and alleviating poverty. For LAC, the MDGs are a historic opportunity to address all forms of inequality and attain the political will needed to achieve these goals. -
Publication
Promoting Healthy Living in Latin America and the Caribbean
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05)Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus and chronic respiratory diseases generate a heavy burden in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) cause nearly a third of all deaths, while malignant and other neoplasms cause one in six. Although there are large variations across countries, some face a heavy double burden of disease as communicable diseases, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional conditions remain important causes of death and disability. In addition, injuries, particularly intentional, add to the burden. The burden of NCDs is increasing and consequently the pressure on regional health systems is growing. In this context, treatment alone will not be fiscally sustainable as the cost of treating NCDs in general is much higher than that of communicable diseases (World Bank 2011). Thus the urgent needs to promote healthy living in the region through population-wide multi-sectoral interventions to improve nutrition, promote physical activity, and reduce tobacco use and alcohol abuse. The role of the health sector is central to ensuring that multi-sectoral interventions to promote healthy lifestyles are designed and implemented along with targeted health care services. Also crucial is surveillance of NCDs and their risk factors. This function needs to be strengthened to improve information on the prevalence of NCDs and their risk factors and to respond adequately to the epidemic. -
Publication
Innovative Training in Cocoa Agroforestry : The Farmer Field Schools of Nicaragua
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-03)The World Bank, with the financial support of the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), is implementing the Alternative Indigenous and Afro-Descendants and Agroforestry Project (COCOA-RAAN) in the indigenous and Afro-descended (Miskito) regions of Nicaragua. The implementing agency, the Agro-forestry coordinating association of indigenous peoples and farmers, is a regional Non government Organization (NGO) 'focused on seeking local socio-productive integration, promoting ecodevelopment and community empowerment.' The project's objective is to strengthen the capacity of indigenous, Miskito, and mestizo organizations to produce and market quality cocoa in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. The project is designed to transform the environmentally damaging practices of cocoa agriculture to conserve the biodiversity, regenerate and sustainably manage forest resources, and improve farmers' livelihoods. Activities include interventions to: i) develop integrated management systems for agro-forestry on at least 1,000 cocoa small farmers; ii) improve marketing to international fair trade and sustainable chocolate companies; and iii) strengthen the social, commercial and environmental management capacity of beneficiaries. To reach the beneficiary community-based organizations and cooperatives, a project-sponsored fund finances subprojects of up to US$25,000. -
Publication
Creating More Livable Cities : The Case of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-12)Despite Rio de Janeiro's privileged position as Brazil's historical capital (from the eighteenth century until 1960) and as a major center for tourism, culture, and education, the city and its region (collectively known as the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro) confronted significant challenges during the final decades of the twentieth century. Since the relocation of the national capital to Brasilia, ongoing industrial restructuring, and social inequality contributed to declines in the region's share of Brazil's population and gross domestic product (GDP). However, since 2001, the region has entered a new period of expansion, based on the surging petrochemical and metallurgical industries, and port and logistics services. Also promising for development over the coming years, the city will host the 2014 World cup final game and the 2016 summer Olympics. With this in mind, the World Bank, with a guarantee from Brazil's federal government, is funding the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan urban and housing Development Policy Loan (DPL).