- "TT 24928 2002 _4 A j..... ... U Z L v. Ii w-, - Xy 41 T. -4. A .14 VI Vt -tfo-,- IV 1 T 4 '04 Fj 4-in -77 01% M", ly, 4_1 he WorLd Bank in Action Stories of Development © 2002 The International Bank for Reconstruction an(l Development / The World Bank 1818 1-I Streel, NW Washingtonl. DC 20433 Tnelephonie 202-473-1000 Internet wwwAworl(lhank.org E-mail teedback@worldhank.org All rights reserved. 1 2 3 4 04 03 02 31772 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT 1 ~ ~ ~ Lj - - X ,,° The WorLd Bank's efforts to reduce poverty and foster development are as diverse Tas the people and tandscapes in the more than 100 countries in which we work. The Bank has heLped rebuild homes in Turkey after an earthquake, provide cattle to farmers in East Timor, protect rainforests in Brazil, build roads in Indonesia, fight HIV/AIDS in Uganda, and support women establishing their own small businesses in Pakistan. In producing "The World Bank in Action: Stories of Development," we hope to offer a glimpse of the people from the local communities, governments, civiL society, the psvate sector, internationaL institutions, and the World Bank who are working together to create opportunities around the world. THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Rebuilding Lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina During the war in Bosnia andd I `nd71 Herzegovina, a grenade lilt andi I t ,,. ' devastated Mila(la Macanovic's family business. Today the 30- %. _5> square-meter grocery store thal Milada and( her husbandi rebuilt In - the southern Bosnian city of , Konjic is stockedi with cabbage, f l , -' green beans, potatoes, peppers. L 1 1 ' -- 'C pasta, caldy, cookies, joiCt, soda. - water, an d ice creamii. Milada is one of nany i',. - .-s N beneficiaries of the World Bank's t Local Initiatives P'roject, which r . over the past five years has helped to sustain inore than 1 70.000 jobs in Bosnia and Herzetovina. In a country bur(ledie(i with a 30 lo 40 percent uneniployinent rate, the Bank has dispersedi more thian St 30,000 in small- enterprise loans. lhouurth the store ha(dio t grown in size, Milai(la used the credits to keep it fully stocked for the neighborhood, and the income (ierived fromii it supports her F:amilily of five. ShC hias already paid back most of the DM20,000-about $ 10.000-shc had been lent over the last three years. Milada and( her husband are among 3.5 million Bosnians across the country who are slowly putting their lives back totethier and tryin( to create a stable fulure for their families. Combating HIV/AIDS in Uganda At one bleak point in the early 1990s, it might never have been ima(gine(i that tUgail(la would he the first country ii Sub-Saharaii Africa to curb) the spread of the IIIV virus. tJgandas HIV/AIDS prevalence rates hadl reachedz a staggering 14% a deca(le ago, with infectionl rates as high as 30 percent in some urban areas. Sinice the confirmationi of the First AIDS case in Uganda in 198G, it is estimatedl that more than 2 million UJgandanis hav been infected with the l-IIV virus. Of these, 800.000 people have died, leaving I millioni chii(dreni orphaned. At its height, heterosexual transmission accounited for 75 percent to Bi percent of new ihifectiotis. Mother-to-child( transimiission constituted almost all other cases. It is staggerinyg to imaginie but the loil could have beein worse h a(d the Ugand(la government not ciliste(d international help to contain and finally reverse the spread of' the (diseasc. 2 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Io fighit its epi(lemic, Uganda developed one of the most compreliesive l-IlV/AIDS procgramis in Africa. In support of Uganda's efforts, the Worlcl Bank provicledl $73.4 million for the Sexually Transmittedl Infections Project in 1994, the cornerstonie of the govermilenit s program to control HIV/AIDS between 1994 and 2000. The projeCt include(d efforts on several fronts to combat the spread of tihe virus, including hell) for prevention of the sexual transmission of HIV Ilrough increased awareness and( promotion of safer sexual behavior, mitigation of the personlal impact of AIDS on the people who are infectedl and their families, and assistance with central andl local governilient managenment of the response to the epidemic. By the end of 2001, adult prevalence had fallen to 5 percent from 8 percent il 1999. While the decrease in prevalence has been achieved across all agle groups, it is most notalble amonig 1 5 to 24-year-olds. Some of the achieveimieints that are associate(d with the decline in the overall prevalence include increased knowle(dge and awareness of IIIV/AIDS and change in sexual behavior. There has been a siclnificant drop it casual sex across all ages, especially among young people. The most significanit changes in sexual behavior have been recorde(l in the young adult age groul)s. This has inlporlanlt implications for the long-term reduction in HIV/AIDS. as this is the most sexually active group, and it represents the next generalion that will be responlsible for the countiry's future economic and( social develol)plellt. Educating Girls in Bangladesh As recently as 1991, the educational attaLiiniet of Banglarleshi womeni was amonig the lowest in the world. Eighty percent were illiterate. Equipped with few skills and uninforimic(I about healti care, family planning, and nutrition, they were trapped in a cycle of dependency. -- II! YI !L - To ensure that school-age girls, CL OX especially those in rural areas, receive an education, the Female 1% Secondary School Assistance Project - was set up in the early 1990s by the Worcld Bank and the government of Bangladesh. Thie .H. project provided incentives to keep girls in schools and resulted in a sharp rise in the number of girls enrolled in grades six through ten. TIhe girls broughlt into the pro( ran.i miiainly fromii poor rural Families, 'L.iJ- 3 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION receive a small cash stipend( to case the finanicial hurden of their c(lucationi. To further encourage schools to enroll girls, a tuition assistance payment has also been provided to schools that choose to participate in tile program. In the areas targete(l by the project, female enrolliment more than doubled to more than I million in 2001 from 462,000 in 1994. The overall proportion of femiales who married at an early age in areas served by the project decliniedi between 1992 and 1995, to 14 percent froni 19 percent for 13 to 1 5-year-oldIs. and to 64 percent from 72 percenlt for I6 to I 9-year-oldls. The benefits of' educating sirls have reachecl far beyond increasing inclivi(lual opportunity. 1-liglier education levels for girls havc benil showni to alleviate problems such as high hirth rates, poor hcalthi practices, anld high infainit mortality. This project is providing continiudcc supp)ort to a very effective effort oti the part of the Banglarleshi government to enable poor rural girls to improve not only their own lives. but the well-being of tile country. Controlling Tuberculosis in China Today. tuberculosis (T-B) is surpassed only by HIV/AIDS as a Icacling killer of adults worldwidc and, as with the AIDS epideemic. ,-, the poorest hear the brunt of this .-. disease. Although the incidence of TB in China is moderate relative . to other countries in Asia and Africa, it is home to more thianii 1.3 million new TB sufferers each x year- 16 percellt of the world's TB cases. ¾ To containi TB, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommenids that governments adopt a strategy knowin as Directly Observed Treatmenlt, Short-course (DOTS). This plan involves not just finding ancl curiig infectious TB patients. but ensurinig that they receive free care. and that they takc their full six-month treatmilet. In 1992. the Chinese governlnciit receiverl a World Bank credit of $130 million for an infectious and endemic clisease project which included more than $50 million for TB control. In partnershil) with the Worlcl Bank, WHO, and the UK l)epartment for liternatiolial Development (DFID), the Chinlese governmenilt sought to implement DO'TS in 13 provinces that account for roughly half of the Clhiese populationi. This involvecl the purchase of low-cost, high-quality cirugs, the training of staff, and the provision of free diagnosis 4 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT and treatment to infectious TB patients. The project also included performance-based incetitives for health providers, who have foregone any income in order to provide free care to patients. By the end of 2000, nearly 1.2 million infectious TB patienits had been cliaginose(d anid cured as a direct result of the DOTS program. In March 2002, the World Bank provided $104 million, augimiented by a $37 million grant from DFID, to expand China's national TB control efforts and reach more of the country's poor population. Chinia's remarkable treatment success ratc of 95 percent is the best of any country underiakinig a large-scale national TB control campaign. Providing Legal Aid for Poor Women in Ecuador Twenty percent of households in Ecuador arc headed by woolen-womiien who are niore vulnerable to the threat of poverty than any other group in society. The economiiic crisis of the 1990's brought themil new risks. Womeni seeking to collect social welfare benefits, to escape abusivc h1ome situations, even to rcgister their newborn childreni faced increasing obstacles and petty corruption. In 1996, Ecuador launchedi a judicial reforili project to provide legal services that respond to the needs of women. The "Law and( Justice" component of the project. whichl was partially finaniced with a $10 .7 million World Banik loan, uLidertook reforms that lent support tot non-governimiental organizaitionis working to provide free legal services to disenfranichised women. This was the first World Bank-financed project to include a legal aid component ained squarely at poor women and their children. "Legal Aid for Poor Women" provided legal consultation and representation, counseling, and dispute resolution services to almost 17,000 poor women. lt also assisted anothier 50,000 indirect beneficiaries, most of whom were the children of women making use of these services. Through this program, woolen gained a greater awareness and understanding of their rights. The evident success of the program has inspired other governments to examine similar initiatives, and plans are undlerway to replicate it in Sri Lanka and Jordan Rebuilding After Disaster Struck Turkey On August 17, 1999, a massive earthquake devastated Turkey's Marmara region. Seventeen thousand people were killed in the quake, which measured 7.4 on the Richter scale. Hundreds of thousands more lost their homes and livelihoods. Turkey's industrial heartlanid was extensively daamagedc. 5 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Thle internationial commiiuniity reacted swiftly. The WorIld Bank provided $252 million for emergenicy recovery assistance. Anothier 5505 million was providled for the construction of 11,502 new homes in eight different sites throughout the clevastated region. Thousandis of people were involved in the rebuilding effort. Fourteen contractors built low concrete buildings that were dlesigned and constructcl to withstand future tremors. Duzee, in Western Turkey, was the first of the affected communities to rise again, being rehuilt around a combination of new apartment buildings, a new school for 240 students, and( a new health centcr. More than 8,000 housing units have heen built for survivors of the quake. 'I'ocetlier, the Wor]cI Batik and 'I'Turkishl authorities also are taking steps to safeguard people against any future quakes. 'I'wo millioti carthquake insuranice policies have been issued through the l'urkish Catastrophic Insuranice l'ool, atid the -T'urkish Energeticy Management Agency has been established to respond effectively to future crises. "I wish never to live again with the fear that my house miiglt collapse on top of me," says Havva Cosar, a Turkishi woman who received a key to a new house. Kenan Karadeniz, an accountant in the rebuilt town of Duzce, also move(d into a new home built with funcis from the World Bank. "I can't recognize this as the same place I walke(d through after the earthquake wheni the streets were destroyed." Karadeniz said. "Thc city is being rebuilt." Connecting IsoLated Villages to Markets in Peru "Before, we ha(l to walk four or five hoLurs each way to go to the niarket in Cuzco. Now it is one hour by bus,' says Julia Juana Viuda de Guaman, a widow and the sole provider for her six children who lives in the village of Ccorca in Central P'eru. A small town of about 700 poor fanilies, Ccorca is located high atop the Andes. To help the resicdents of this region have access to markets and basic services, the Peruvian government got togethier with the World Bank, NGOs, and the Inter-American Development Bank to create the P'eru Rural Roadis Program. Undler this initiative, the 20 kilonieters between Cuzco and Ccorca can now be coverecd in just one-tenth of the time it took on the old roatls. In addition to buying Fooc, medicine andl clothinig in the towin, andl selling their own proclucts in the niarket, the people of Julia Juana's village are now going to Cuzco to do part-time work in tile city's buoyant loiurist industry, which is betiefititig f'rom its proxilmity to Macchu PieChu. Ccorca is not the otily indligenous village ir the area benefiting from a new roacl and greater access to basic services. Around 3 millioni people in the Andean region are reaping the benefits of the expansion and rehabilitation of sonIic 13.000 kilometers of rural roads andl highways. STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT FueLing Economic Growth in Mozambique Af'ter more than 17 years of _ civil war, Mozarnbi(bLiuc ceierge(d A ; durilig the 1'990s as one of the vvorld's poorest, miost debt- jU v' g Li e[ ridden countries. To offer better lives for its people, the government of Mozambique v unl(lerstood the need to create jobs -' - and attract investment in ways that would hielp rebuild a shattered - society. - - Today, Mozambique is the home . to the single largest industrial investment in southern Africa, the $1.3 billion aluminum smelter called Mozal. Built in the years after the end of the civil war, Mozal has involved a number of investors and lenders, including the lndlustrial l)evelopment Corporation of' South Africa-, which was backed by a $40 niillion guarantee from Ihe Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). an arm olf the World Bank Group. Yet it is not the project's sizc that makes Mozal so notable, but the tremendous impact it has had on the development of the host country. In 2001, the facility contributed an estimated 10 percent to Mozambique's GDP growthl brought in new technical skills, created thousands of jobs, and contributed to much neededl local infrastructure dlevelopment. Mozal also contributes by adhering to good environmental and social practices. Working in partnership with the government, NGOs, and local communities, a special Mozal Trust is providing more than 17,000 local families with a host of services, including community infrastructure, education and training, and health care services that aim to fight AIDS ancl malaria. "Mozal's shareiholders believe that the mcasure of a successful project should go beyond world-class construction and operalional performance. to include world-class environmental and social ethical performance," says Alcido Mausse, head of the Mozal 'Trust. 'I'he Mozal project also has played an important role in crcating a blueprint for assessing and processing foreign direct investment proposals, strengtheniing the government's capacity, and( fostering a more responsive regulatory framework and investment climate. Thanks to the Mozal's "demonstration effect," foreign investors are considering several new developmients of more than $1 billion. 7 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Empowering Women in Pakistan In Pakistan, the World Bank is working with a numiiber of groups to hell) poor women finn( new sources of income. In maniy cases thiis involves backing the flow of microcredlit loans to those who want to lake tihc initiative to improve their own lives. Sadeeqan. the mother of a family of seven livinig in Lahore nioes not own land or livestock. and( for years site relied on her husbanld's incomne of 1,500 rupees a month, earne(l Lhrotuglh his work as a gardenier. -, >v='- (to ,25 ¢5:;. s,' -- ,, ' t J- - The familly was -* . ..; J r deeply indebted, and( . si * . << it l ~~~~~~a loan of 2,000 .. ;X<-4- t -j[6aS i- pe ........................... _ _ rupees from a local he' q*-.4. j |4Xwnmoney lcurler hiad to ~~~*~~~~~flb~~~~~~~~ ~be paid back in onie lutnm) suti. Sadeelgan s and( her husband had * been paying a imonthly interest of 200 rupees for ,almost a year, makintg the loan's repaymenit seemingly 4 1 1 * a d ' t an imnpossible task. For hell), they turine to the Kashf Foundation ote of a number of intermedniary organizationls supported by the World Bank-financed Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, whichi providles niicrocre(lit services antd community infrastructure development. Kashf provides microfinance services to poor wotnen, enabling them to buy things as varied as gas stoves, school books for their children. roof tililg or ilooritmt for their homes, cattle aimid draugh t animlals, and( fruits and vegetables to sell in small shops. Kashf advised Sadeeqan to initiate a guick turniover business so tlhat she could pay back her loan fronit hier carnings. With a smiall loan from Kashf. Sadecqan bought 1 3 mounds of rice paddy at a price of 4,000 rupees. Once site had huske(d the paddy. she sold the rice for 6,000 rupees. Shc made sure that tilc rice was soldl in cash rather than credit so she couldl rcap the profit iinIIC(liately. She used the 2,000 rupees to clear her del)t to the money letider andl slie ituvested the rest il settilng up a carpet weaviltg loom inl her house. While Sadeeclan runts thc padnly h uskinig business with her husbann1, she also manages the carpet weaviting busitmess on her own. Like any entrepreneur, Sadcqani has planis to expand her business. With another loan front Kashf, she aims to buy a bigger carpet weaving loot. 8 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Striving for Peace in Sierra Leone With the onset of civil war in 1991, Sierra Leone plunged to last place in the world's Human Development Iidex. measured each year by thc United Nationis Development Programme. Half of the country's population was displaced, anld it was impossible for hunianitarian or developiment aid to reach into half the country's war-batteredl territory. I-lowever, working with the World Banik and otiher international partnlers throughi the Disamiameit, Demobilization, and Reintegrationi (DDR) program, the goveniment of Sierra Leone has been able to strive for a lasting peace. Ihe DDR program was part of a long-term effort initiated in 1997 by the WorIld Bank and( the UK's Departmenit for Intemational Developmenit. lt was shaped by a UN-supported peace agreenient based on reconciliation, and it included all the parties to the conflict. Coordinating with international supporters. the World Bank managecd a $31.5 million Multi-Donor Trust Fundc while the UN oversaw the disarmament process as part of a the broader effort to cement the new peace initiative. By January 2002, the war was officially declared over. Altogether, sonic 72,500 combatants have been disarmed anid demobilizecl, and 42,330 weapons and 1.2 million pieces of ammunition have been collectecl andc destroyed. With the restoration of a lasting pcace, developmenit aid is retumihg to Sierra Leone to support the governmient's efforts to foster reconciliation and the reintegratioll of those who fought in the civil war. HeLping Women Combat Poverty in Kyrgyzstan Sononya Zhanazarova, or Sonya, comes from Naukat, a farming town in the red hills of Kyrgyzstan some 40 kilometers from the regional capital. Until recently, she and lier husband had been living on a pension equal to just $51 a month, wilich Soriya tried to supplement by selling pistachios at the local produce market. Sonya started her business with a small bag of nuts. Unable to afford a stall in the produce halt, she sold pistachios from a small table outside the building-even during the freezing winter months- until she got together with 11 other women to form a village banking group. Hoping to find the capital to help grow her business, Sonya turned the Foundation for lnternational Community Assistance (FINCA), a micro-finance provicier supported by the World Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC). A $40 loan from FINCA allowed Sonya to buy more pistachios ancl begin expandiig her own business. Entrepreneurs like Sonya neecl ongoing, reliable access to loans at fair interest rates to take advantage of market opportunities and to iiiiprove their own livelihoods. Supported by the IFC, FINCA is helping ensure that even the sniallest businesses can flourishi by giving them access to adtditional furitis. FINCA has set out to liell) low-income urban arid 9 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION rural wonien in particular ani( now 90 percent of' FINCA's clients in Kyrgyzstan are women who borrow an average of S120. FINCA uses a leilding techni(Lue that relics on group guaralitCCs-such as tlhat provided by Sonya's banking group-instea(l of traclitional collateral like property. Experience with sucih programs has showni that women in low-income areas are more apt to translate these kinds of carning oplportUlnitiCs into better health anti education for their families, multiplying the benerits of such a small initial loan. Over time, Sonya's loans and( business have grown so that she was able to add new products to her invenitory andl rent a table insi(le the market ball. Today, she is inot only doing well for herself, but she has evein hired new staff-her daughiters-ini-law. Pumping Water to Brazil Over the last decade, the Worldi Barnk set out to work with others to hell) tackle Brazil's two major water resotirce ninlagenient challenges: the scarcity of fresh water andl of sewage services. Millions of poor people in Brazil's northcast were livililt o01 lands parched by years of rirouglit. At the same time, millions of Brazilians livinig il urban a'lltd industrialized areas, particularly in = -Ii_ the southeast, were facing anz./ unlhcalthy elivironmelt Lliglhtedt by 2 I water pollulion.i Between 1991 anti 1994, the World '. Bank approved $2 billion in loanIs to support thc Brazilian government's water resource activities. ' As a result, the nulmlber of' people - - - with a reliable access to cleiall water has junlped by 30 percent in rural areas since 1986, Over the same period of time, tile percelntage of people with access to reliable, drinkable water sources has climbed to 96 percenlt in urban areas. Altogether, more than 1.3 Ilillioll people hiavc bcneiite(d froml Bank-supported water projects in Brazil over tfie last t 6 years. Supporting Communities in Malawi Until last year, studenits at Njewa Community Day Secoiitlary School il Lilonlgwe, the capital of Malawi. attend(le( classes for onily tlrece hours a day. They were forced to spend the greater part of the day at home because they werc usiig classrooms mcant l'or a primary sclool. 10 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Io address thcse kinds of challenges, the Malawi governmlent several years ago established the Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF), a facility backed by the World Bank. The MASAF was establishedl specifically to bring social services to the smallest coIml1unities across Malawi. Thaniks to this initiative, the people of Njewa now sentd their childrein to a new secondary day school. Students who usecd to attend classes out(loors llow have proper classroomss, complete with chalkboards, cdesks, and chairs. Teachers who once rentecl houses far from their respectivc schools can now stay at thle school, saving them time ancd the cost of travel. What makes MASAF-funded projects uni(lue is that the beneficiarics are able to supervise thicir projects througlh a clemocratically elected P roject Managemiient Comnnitite. The Njewa committee oversaw the construction of the new school and hiousing for its teachers, and reported back to the community on thle prqject's prottress. MASAF asks comilmunities to contribute 20 percent toward the total cost of each project-whcther a school, clinic or market-which can be partly in the form of buildlinig materials andl labor. The Njewa commiiuniity raised the equivalent of $100 t made 16,000 concrete blocks. and collected sand before they approached MASAF for fun(inig. Since its inception in 1995, MASAF has funded 4,697 classrooms througthout Malawi. It also has sul)ported the drilling of freslh water bore holes, the construction of community hcalth centers, and the establishment of new markets across Malawi. Fostering Good Nutrition in Bangladesh , Malnutrition levels in Banclladesh remain the highest in the world, providing the starkest evidence of the barriers to its economic and social development. NeaTly 700 childrcni die of mnalnutrition- * g.- J - related causes in Bangladesh every day. K Amonig those who survive, nearly 60 ' , _ percent are seriously underweight. Malnutrition costs the country roughly r $1 billion per year in treatment costs and lost productivity. In 1995, the government launched the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project (BINP) with support from UNICEF i and a $59.8 million credit from the World Bank. It is one of the largest nutrition programs of its kindc operating in the developing world today. By the end of THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION 2001, the project had reached more than 3 millioni householcis in over 13,000 villages across Bangladesh, providing sucIh seivices as chil(l growth monitorinig andl food supple- mentationl for those most at risk-child(renI un(ler the zaqe of two, women1 who are breast- feeding, and pregnanit womIenI. In the areas served by the program, severe malnutrition among childlrenl uncder two years of age dlecliiecd to 2 percent from 13 percent over six years. The nonihber of low birth-weight babies fell 30 percent, an(d at least half of all pregnant womeni in the targete(l areas have gained weighlt. In 2000, the World Batik approved atiother $92 millioni for a broader-reaching National Nutrition Program, aimed at expandiniqg commUonity-hlasd tn tilriliolt services andl activities. This tiew initiative is seekitig to ensure diverse and nutritious food is provi(led to a group comprisinig ntearly one-tlhir(i of the Bangla(leshi pl)opulation. The BINP project has been successful in feedinig and restoring the healthi of over 1.2 millioll teenage girls; 191.000 lactating wonien; 158,000 preg nant tmothers; and 718,000 child(ren un(cr two years of age. Boosting Self-Reliance in East Timor The birth of' the world's iewest indetpendent nation, East Tilmor, catne at tremetidous cost to its people. The violence of 1999 clestroye(d Imiuch of East l'Timor's rural sector. with farms dlestroyed, processing niacliiiery smashed, tools stoleti and farnm animals killed. Food an(d seed stocks were looted. Overall, economiiic prodluctlion dropped by 49 perceit tn 1999 froni thc year before. - _ I'hrough the First Agriculture Rehabilitationi Project, the World Bank- administered Trust Fund( for East Timor ihas helped commiLunities get farm >. - 3 i atiimiials atid farm tools, repaired sniall irrigatiOtl sclhemlles art(l roads, and ., . -..-...-,-----.: traitiecd agriculture staff. A seconic .> -*-- phiase of this initiative, approved in June 2001. aims to build on the successf3ul coni niunity-basecd activities of the first project by improvinig food security for farm families and( increasitig agricultural .,, . - ..... . pro(Luctioll. So far, the project has helped( vaccitate .more than 100,000 cattle and buflfalo, :",-. - - .. - and nearly 250.000 pigs. In addition, ., , +.* .- ,.fi. -.~-" , , ,, -a - m tore thati 71,000 chickens have been .____________________________ _ ..__._,_ _._,rjtgiven to farmers and poor women of 12 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT sonie 14,000 families. More thani 3,000 Bali cattle and buffalo have also been provided to farimiers who lost their livestock cluring the violence in 1999. The First Agriculture Rehabilitation Project helped to establish three agricultural service centers to boost rice ancl coffee production andi marketing, and has supportedc the processing of cancile-nut into tung oil. The project has provided community grants for the rehabilitation of 7.742 hectares of' small irrigation fields and 109 kilometers of rural access roads. More than a thousandl radios have been given away to people livitg in 14 separate communities to ensure they can stay in touch with the issues facing tlleir new nation. Empowering Citizens of Russia As Russia began to reform its legal systeimi in 1996, changinig the cultural climate surrounditig the judliciary was as importanit as tackling tradtitional components of legal reform. I-lavyig spent 70 years circumventing the system and experiencinig dirastic social andi economic changes. the miajority of Russian people distrusted their legal and judicial systems ancd did not know how to make use of thiem. One of the goals of Russia's legal reform was to make justice accessible to everyone. With the support of a $58 million World Bank loan, a series of pul)lic informiation campaigns was designedl to address some of thlese challeniges. The campaigns includlecd a public education program in secondary schools that would use comt)etitions on Ie(lal subjects. pamptilets and brochures on legal topics, ancd visits by legal professionials to reach out to sturtenlts. From the 55 schools that participated in the first phase of the program, today there are 600 schools actively involved. More than t 20,000 Russian children, between the ages of 12 and 18, have taken legal courses ii their schools and have learned about their rights both as citizens and as children. 1'he prqject also has provideci support to legal practitioners, enabling them to undergo training in order to improve their professional conduct. Eight law schools have updated their class syllabus with 53 new courses; 90 judiciary public information officers have been taught how to improve communication with the public on legal matters. And, 200 journalists have taken legal journalism courses to improve their reporting skills. Registering Minority-held Land in Colombia Afro-Colonibianis make u0) 90 percent of the population in the rainforest-coverecl Choc6 region along Colombia's Pacific coast. Largely deh)eendlent on fishiig. hulting, ancl tralitionial farmiig, these groups are among the country's poorest. 13 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION In 1994, the World Bank approved a Natural Resources Management Program lo help the Choco regionI's Afro-Colombian antln indigenous groups obtaini titles of landl ownershlip) while preserving their cultural anld ethniic irlentities. t he S65.3 million project funded the implementation of a law recognizinig Afro-Colombiani communities as ethilic groups with collective territorial ri(ihts. Workshops, trainilng courses and village counicils raised awareness in the communiity about land( ownershil), and withl the active participation of regional Afro-Colombianl and( indigneious organizations, the project set up regional committees between the government an(J the cotillunities to ease ethliic conflicts and develop titling stanriar(is. By 2001, the program hart helpedl 58 community councils gain titles to 2.4 million hectares of Ianrl for house1ol01ds togetlher comprising more than 100.000 peotple. Providing Basic Services to Isolated Villages in Yemen Remote mountain villages in Yenile. one of the world's poorest countries, often lack the most basic services such as schools and clean water. the - Social Furlc for Development (SFD) N was established in 1997. with support from the Woriri Bank, to hell) redruce . poverty, provirle basic health and social services to remote and poor comiiuLities, anti provide economic opp)ortunlities. In remote mountainitop villages, the SFD has workeri with communiities to restore traditional water-harvesting systems and also increaserd girls' school enrollment by constructinig new classrooms. In soriie coolmunities, the SFD has supported new health ceinters and connecter] remote villag es with marketplaces by building new roads. Education projects amounit to more than 50 percent of the SFD's activities, followeri by water and healthcare projects. Since its establishment, the Funil has signed contracts for over 2.420 projects, of whichi some I i1 5 have been completed, benefiting more thani five million people across Yemeni. Expanding Education in Armenia For Ani, a fifth grarder in Capan, a city in the Armenian valley, going to school these nays is fun,. ter new textbook has plenlty of colorful pictures anti( up-to-date iiformation. Her school offers lots of creative activities such as theatre, rlance and music. Ani is learinig liow to use a computer ant( is coniecte(i to sturients all over the world thiroughi the Iiternet. 14 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT But in 1998, few textbooks coul]l be foutid in classrooms in Armieiia, anicd those that were available were old and shabby leftovers from the Soviet era. The World Bank, together with UNICEF and the Utiited Nations Dcvclopment Programiie (UNDP), gave the lovernment $ i 5 millioni for the Education Financing atid Management Reform project that currently covers all Armenian schools up to tenth grade. Under this initiative, a foundationi was createcl to share the cost of textbooks amilong the schools, the goverti-nent, anid the studentsl parents. Since theni, nlew classes have beet added and students can now learti Armenian history and literature, civic education, information techtiology, atld the arts. When the project started, Armenia's edtucation systemrl was on the verge of collapse. The textbook foundation was the first step in a quest to have the right to a good edlucation for an entire generation of childlren. For clildren like Atii, this lhas already iadte a real difference to thcir lives. Fighting Riverblindness in Africa Onchocerciasis, or riverbliticiness, is a disease that has lotig brought sufferinig atic misery to millions of Africans. But now, riverbltidness is being effectively tackled by a alliance of governmetits, the private sector, andc intertiatiotial agencies, including the World Batik. The disease, borne by blacktlies that breed it fast-flowing rivers, causes blindness in about 10 percent of its victims ani(l has forced the depOpulatioti of large tracts of arable, river bottom farmland. tn a swatli of Africa from Senegat to Ethiopia andl froni Angola to Mozambique, cnearly 500,000 people have severely impaired vision, 350,000 more are blind, and 6.5 millioii are infected with riverblindness. Ongoing control programs have reduced these totals to less than half of what they were in the early 1970s. In 1974, the OnchoCerciasis Control Programme (OCP) was established, brnging together the World Bank, I the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Food anc t Agriculture Organization. Since then, \,.- - .1, OCP has halted transmission and 1 eliminated the disease as a public health problem in a region that - covers 40 million people in It West African countries. In its 28 years, OCP has prevented 600,000 cases of blindness and eighteen million . children born in now-cotitrolled . . _ areas have beeti spared the risk of - . _ A. 1 5 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION thc discase. Twenty-five millioni hectiares of fertile lantd have been made safe for Cultivation and( resettlement. By the en(l of' this year, a total of 5 millioni years of' labor will have been added to the economies of Bcnini. Burkina 'Faso, Cote d'lvoire, Ghana. Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger. Senegal, Sierra leone, and Togo. The remarkable success of OCI' lcd in 1996 to the establishment of ihe African 'Programme for Onchocerciasis Conlrol (APOC), whichl includes the continent's remaininig 19 riverblichdness- endemiC countries: Angola. Buruondi, Caniteroon., Central Alrican Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Contio. Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia. Gabonl, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi. Mozambi(ue, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and tJgan(la. A key feature of the APOC initiative is Merck Et Co. Inc:s donation of' Mectizan, a drug that relieves the symploms of riverblindiless and stops transtmission when taken conlnlnuity-wide. By distributing MecBz.n in partnership wilh non-governmental orgcaniza lions and national governtiicints, Al'OC alreadly treats 25 millioni people a year, morc than onc thircl of the eventual larget population of 60 millioni. Giving ViLlagers a Voice in Indonesia "We used to be half-dead wheln we arrived in the morning at our rice palddies. Now we get there inl minutes." says one Nortlt Sulawesi villager. "Of course, it is at harvest timile wheni we real) the grcatcst beniefits of the new road. Carrying the ricc whilc treadinlg on the tiny zigzag path that was here before was an act of' acrobatics an(i of endurance. Now we do it by motorcycle laxi in n1o tilime at all." In villages across the In(donesian archip)elago. similar projects arc heing developed under the World Ba ok-funlded Kecamatan Development Project (KDP), a commiuntity-eimpl)owermicnt initiative. Villagers livin(g in kecamatans, or sub-districts. receivc girants for projects they theliselves choose. A village assembly has to ImleCt and assess the needs ol' the community. In addition, a notice board must be set up centrally in cach village to show where every rupiah is going. anrl to announce who is accountable fbr the monley, and for the implementation of the project. According to onc Sulawesi women's qLroup, KDP has had significant liberating cffects for women. whose time anid effort have beeni freedl up by maniy of' the village projects. Accordioft to another, the most iilportanit thlig is that KDP leaves the decision uL) to ihose affecterl by the project. "Before, a develol)ment )roject coull consist of' Ls being toldl to produce goorls for the market, arld given resources to d(o so, wilhout any helip with marketing or selling," says One Sulawesi woman. "We ended ul) with mianlily unsol(i goods il our homiles. Production in itself is not enougIl. With K[)P it is now we who deci(le what-and if-to produce.'' Over the past four years. the )roijcCt has built roads stretchinlg over 19 00)() kilomicters. andi erected or rehabilitated somic 3,500 bridges. It has constructed 5,20)0) irrigzation systems to impirove crop yiells. and has supplied 2,800 commIIunlities with clean (Irinkinig water. For the chlildIrei of' these villages, KD)P has financed the constrLCtiotl of' 285 new schools. Kl)P has also provided over 25 million man-days of paid labor in rural, poor parts of thc country, paying the wages of nearly five mlillioll pecople. I6 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Delivering Universal Primary Education in India In a nation as sprawling antd diverse as i India, offering even a few years of ediicaibmol to all hoys and girls is a daunting prospect, but on(e thal thli government is confronting with the aid of the international community. Iniliatecl in the early 1990s, the District Primiary Lilocatii Proqra ll)rr (DUL') was designed to facilitate lndia's eflorts , - to achieve universal primary education -- and it has since hecomic ilic world's largest education program, reaching 60 million children. Vftile thc W%orld BJnh is, ilcslrle lary_est :l ¢ , conitributortothis a to ei itiativ aving l * provided $1.2 billion, the program is also supported by many other donors, including tile European Commission, lJNICEF and the govmerniitts of' tlle Nethierlands anidI ','IX-, ;-e, \P Swedeni. Spreadl over 271 clistricts in 18 states in India, the program operates where female litcracy levels are below th L national average. Ihe focus of DPEP is children between the ages of six and 14, and its target is to provide at least four or five years of quality primary educationi. The project also aims to rcduce the number of school dropouts and improve the overall quality of primary education. In addition to girls who were formerly prevented from attenciiiig school, the beneficiaries include children with mild to moderate disabilities. aiid working chil(lren. Enrollment in general has increased, and in a three-year periord enrollment of girls increased to 43 percent from 38 percent. The recently instituted national erlucaliol program is using DPEP as a blueprint for its overarchiiig aim of rielivering universal primary education across India. Empowering the Remote Communities of Ethiopia With a population of more than 60 million and an average per capita income of $1()0 a year, Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest countries. In 1995, life expectancy in Ethiopia 17 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION was just 48 years. and 117 of every onc thonsanid infants (lied( witlbin their first year. Almost 700 womicn (lied in chil(lbirth for every 100,000 births. More thani 70 percent of the country was susceptible to malaria, and tuberculosis was the major cause of hospital- registered death. In 1996, the Social Rehabilitation and Development Fund( Project was created to help remote commiluniities address these trage(lies, backed by a commitment froml the World Batik to finance half of the project's $240 million total cost. Since ilict, the ploject has enabled GO6tOQ0 childrcn. 49 percent of thetim girls. to attend( school. Four millioni people now have easier access to hcalthi and sanitation facilities. Some 66,800 Ethiopians cnjoy higher crop yields due to improved irrigation. Stemming the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Brazil tI It 90, Brazil had one of the world's largest tititibers of reported AIDS cases in the world. By 1995. AIDS was Ilic number onc cause of (leath amolIg yoLIog wonien in the State of S3o Paulo, and( sccond among met. A crisis of such lproportions rcqtuired an approach thiat woukl combiiie tboth prevenltion and( treat ntcrit, aticl the Brazilian tioverniment turned to the interinatiotial commllunity for help. Now, UNAIDS sees Brazil a 4d V~% P 2 success story amongl nations strLIggling to contain the AIDS epidentic. and to provide for its victimis. J' < - ' k v *hIn 1993. the World Bank : s X + approved SI60 nillion For thc AIDS and Sexually -t . i33 . Transmitted IDiseases (STD) Control Project in Brazil. The proglram focused on prevettioin efforts, hUt also coveretd treatritetit and testing. Between 1993 and 1997. the project helped 175 ttoi-govertiietital organizations carry outt miore than 400 grassroots carnpaigns enticaitig highi-risk groups such as mijecting (irug users and sex workers amout unsafe or hamiful behaviors. They hatidend out iiore than 180 tmillion condotms. raised AIDS awarencss anmonti more than 50t).000 peoptle. antd trainedl 3.800 teachers and 32,500 stUonIens in prominotiirg AIDS atid drug abuse preventioti. According to surveys, condlotil use among tici has surged tiranitatically. with a tenfold increase reported between 1986 atdc 1999. 18 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Aided by another $165 million World Bank loan in 1998, the Control Project, now in its second phase, is helping Brazil's Ministry of Health reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS while making it possible for Brazilians with AIDS to live longer, healthier lives. The program has contributed to a 38 piercent rrolp in the nuinber ofAlIDS-rclated (lea ths since 1993. While supporting 145 specialized AIDS care units, 66 hospital-based care units, and 50 home-care teams, the focus of the Second AIDS and STD Project remains prevention. It has helped set up a nationwide network of 141 AIDS testing and counseling centers. Through a partilership with the National Business AIDS Council, 3,000 companies are now providing AIDS awareness training to 3.5 million workers. Doubling Rural Incomes in Turkey More than 70 percent of T'urkey's land area faces soil clegradation from erosion, resulting in low productivity and low rural incomes. In 1993, the World Bank approved the Eastern Anatolia Watershed Rehabilitation project, which has since improved the lives of farmers in more than 300 mountain villages, by enabling them to grow new cash crops and by teaching them new farming techniques that have b)oosttd agricultural productio(i dramatically. The project was designed to increase the productivity of forest land, promote the sustainable use of marginal _ farmland, and increase the i-.I /'' involvement of local / communities in planning and managing their own natural resources. Smaller projects have been carried out in 11 provinces, covering 617,000 hectares and benefiting 227,000 people. Since its launch, rural incomes have at least doubled, and ' satellite images reveal a marked difference in vegetation, which will help 4' ' reduce floods and sedimentation. 19 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Eliminating Iodine Deficiency in China In countries whiere iodized salt consumption is low, such as Chilia, childIren are at risk of iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) like goiter. Medical research also shows that IDD can result reduce a child's IQ Icvcl by Up to 13 per cent. Stu(lies have showni that there is a tlirect correlation between children's performance in school and the incorporation of iodine in their (liets. Working with UNICEF and other partners, Ihe World Hank supported the Chilicsc government's National Iodine Deficiency Elimination Program by providing aid lor ujlo it, physical plants for iodized salt produictioni, packaging, antl distribution, and by establishing effective quality control in thec salt industry. 'I'he project also includedl the training of laboratory staff and thle improvenient of' laboratory facilities. Since the start of the national program in 1993. goiter rates for child(ren nationwide in C'hina have cieclitne(l significantly-to helow 9 percent from 20 percent in 1995. T-he decline was initially a result of both distribution of' iodile oil capsules antl increase(l consuml)tion of ionizcd salt. 'I'c national average distrihutioll of' iodized salt reachedl 93.9 perceilt in t 999, coml)ared with 810 perce)t in 1995. Recovering from Civil War in Rwanda In 1995. the Rwandan post-war oovertmelit startecl liberalizing the trade ancI currency regimiles and also key proILuct italkets. Following the mailssivc return of miore than a millioni refugces to Rwanda, thc Worcld Bank in lune 1997 approved a S50 millioll Economliic Reintegralion antI Recovery itierest-frec cre(lit to support the governienit's ref'ormi program and( assist iti the resettleticini and reintegratiomn of those returniig to their homlelan(l. Some 1.3 tilliotn people have been resettlerd anti reintegratc( by the government, with the help of this project. The creclit has also been usedl to stimulate economilic recovery anti stability by providing foreign exchanige for imports. and( by boostiltl private sector prodluction and( employmient. -Ihe effects have beeii widespread. The return of ref'ugees to their comIllunitics cdurinig 199l, and( 1997 boosted agricultural production. which rose 14 percenl helween 1996 and 19918. Dependency on emergency assistance, such as food aid, has waned. Childreni wenit back to school in lar(le numbers and primary school enrolilmenit rose to 88 perceni in the 1998-1999 school year. I-lealth centcrs arc functioninlg. The reforms spurredl a rapid recovery of the private and financial scctors. Real GDP, whichi declinied( by 50 percent in 1994, rehouilde(l by 24 percent between 1996 ancI 1998. 20 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Improving Education Quality in Tunisia By the mid-1 990s, Tunisia had succeeded in enrolling almost 3 ll of the country's six-year-olds in fir, AL grade. Despite tihis effort the schol j r system was still bLr(lenie(r with iigi- dropr-out and repetition rates in later grades. As part of a larger reformn project, the Tunisian governmetit requeste(l Workl Bank assistance to huild on a UNICEF-supported "learning improvement" project. The Bank's $99 million fundimq has contributed to the development of new school currcula, the creation and distribution of new textbooks, and the implementation of new tools to measure students' performances. In addition, an extensive training program for teachers was created to equip them with the skills tiiey need to incorporate new teaching methods in their daily instruction. The new methodology aims to provide each child with basic competencies in a range of core subjects. and requires teachers to focus on each student's nee(is and be accountabic for the pupil's progress. The Priority Schools Program now covers some 600 primary schools and 1oo middle schools, and kindergarten classes have been created in over 400 schools to cater to the most disadvantaged children. Responding Quickly to Natural Disasters in India When an earthquake struck Gujarat in January 2001, it killed about 13,800 people, and injured another 167,000. The quake smashed to rubble some 220,000 houses and damaged nearly a million others, besides disrupting power and water supply, and the road, irigation, and telecommunication networks. Thousands of schools, hospitals, administrative buildings, and niarkets collapsed. Families, livelihoods, and social networks were destroyed. "Nothing had prepared us for the devastation that was to come," says Fatima B1chn. a resi(lent of Dahhi village, in the Patan District of Gujarat. "But as mothiers, we soon realized Ihal we ha(t to get a firm hold on our feelings and deal with the othcr realities-children who were terrified anid ha( to be fed. no houses available. One of the first things that we wanted was a makeshift school for our childrc.n" 21 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION The international community, Indian civil society, and the World Bank responded swiftly. Relief anld rescue teams, food, tents and meclicines, cash and donations, aii(l long-terni offers to help in reconstruction nowc(l in. As a result of this collaboration, over 800,000 houses have been repaired and reconstructed to a higher standard than before. Some 5.000 engineers and 24,000 masons have received training in building scismically safe houses. About 1,400 primary schoolrooms have been completed by non-governmental organizations, and another 1,000 are in progress. In addition. repairs of about 7.000 public buildilngs are now complete. Improving Medical Treatment in Bosnia and Herzegovina Impaired kidniey funiction is of'ten a life-threatening problem that can only be manage(d by renal dialysis, an artificial method of maintaining the chemical balance of the blood. Access to quality treatment is an acute problem for residenits of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovitia where kidney disease is cndemic. With the country's Faltering health care system in f'urther disarray after the war, until recently there was little hope that local citizens suffering from the disease would receive adeguate treatment. -. .-1 ' ] 'I'hat all changed in April 2001, --- ---- - |i ' when the International Dialysis n - - . Center BV (IDC) of the ) < < LF-. . 'i Netherlan(ds injecte(I several i .,:,. i>* g millioti dollars into a new. ,,!,] " :t K - ' >ER, state-or-the-art (ialysis facility il:~~% '!' e Slb o~~fl * i)l tht city Of Baflja Luika in Bosnia ancd Herzegovina. 'I'he _I 13 t F1 x inivestmenC,t imiarked the first infiusion of foreign cash in the country's health sector. The quality of treatment is -- estimated to have improved three-fol(l. AndtI now, mnore thati half the patients can work, compared with 20 pcrccnt before. "No onc can believe the difference," says Vlastimir Vlatkovic, the clinic's medical dlirector. "After three moniths of proper treatmetnt, patients nio longJer have complications." 'I'he Multilateral Guarantee Ageticy (MIGA), an arm of the World Bank Groupl mace the investment possible by providing a S 1. millioni guarantee. made available through a special trust fund finianced by the European Union. The insuratice was key to the investment going ahead, easing the investor's concerns about potential threats to the stability of the economy anti wither society. 22 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Extending Credit to the Rural Poor of Vietnam Increasingly. nlicrofinance is proving to be the key thal unlocks the potential of poorest in many dieveloping countries, as shown in Vietniamii where farmiers have been able to raise the funds to expand and where mobile bankers now offer communities fair financing for their own fledgling ventures. Between 1998 arid 2001, a World Bank-assisted Rural Finance project provided nearly $650,000 to 250,000 rural Vietnam households. Alniost a third of the borrowers were womeni. The loans, avcraging $360 each and provided through seven participating banks, wcre used to expand farmn production, agricultural processing, and trading. To date, the repaymcnt rate is 98 percent-very hiigh compared to trends in the wicder banking system. "This project has brought valuable new financial resources to Vietnani to fight rural poverty." says Dr. Nguyen Van Giau, Deputy Governor of thc State Bank of Vietnam. "Not only has it made the participating banks stronger, it has enabled thousands of farmi households and small-scale enterprises to borrow small amounts at comnnercial rates and expand their businesses. Without the project, most of these borrowers would have turned to money lenders, whose costs are much higher." The total credlit provided by the Bank for this project was $110 million. The project has supported several financing initiatives, reflecting the various challenges facing Vietnamese communities. One of these is mobile banking, which provides services to ''-: remote areas without bank branches, using . - specially equipped vehicles. Since the inception of the program, each mobile bank visits an average of 62 remote locations . : monthly, adding more than 200 new savings . : 'N? accounts and more than 500 new bonrowers . J 1- every month. -- . ' _ . Already, the benefits of mobile banking . exceed the costs, highlighting the need to Ii provide more and better banking services to 4r X people in remote areas who until now have ir had no formal banks to serve them. , According to a study conducted by the .' Microfinance Resource Center of the National .. ' -, n, Economic University in Hanoi in 2001, 99 ; * ' , percent of the borrowers increased their income significantly after borrowing. 7 b 4 i',1 ' 23 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Reducing Telecom Costs in the Caribbean As in any society, access to information and the ability to commu-nicate are essential if pcople arc to participate in economiiic development. In five countries of thic Or(ganization of Eastern Caribbean Slates (OECS)-Donwitica, Greniazda, St Kitts-Nevis. St. Lucia andl St. Vincent-an expenisive and erratic teleplhone system hcld back developnient as the informationz age unfoldlcdl in the 1980s and 90s. Cable Ft Wircless, a Britisi multinational company, enjoye(d what was effectively an unregulated monopoly over telecomnmurnicationis services among the island(s. hI 1998. the World Bank helped the OECS countries sct up a regional telecoMMunications authority. whicI oltintately negotiate(d thc termis for liberalization of the eastern Caribbean's telecom market. So far, the telecommlunications proJect has rerluced telephone and initernet cliar(les by ncarly half. Lower rates have helped to stilulatC new, more diversc busilncssCs i these small econiomics. Low costs have also eniabled the OECS countries to conilect their businesscs across national borders. througil increasecl communication via the Iiterinet. fax. phone. and teleconferencinig. Helping Children Lead Healthier Lives in Bolivia In 1999 conFrontedl by some of the most bleak health indicators in Latin America, the Bolivian governmiient asked the World Bank Io hell) it wil l a program to bring better healill care to poor families throughout the country. The World Bank responded by approving a $25 tiillioni ellalth Sector Reform Program that hacl as its priority reduLcing high miaternal and hifant mortality rates. Adopting a results-based approach centierecl on yearly targcts for eight basic health indicators. the project quickly made immullnization more widely available andl helped the poor gail better access to health care services. Coordination betweecn Bolivian officials and dotior ag(encies improved, resultilng il more effectively targeted health care dlelivery. 111Mmunization coverage jumped to 86 pIercetlit i 200)0 from 75 percent in 1998. with governiment spencling on vaccriies siarig to $3 trillioni in 2000 from $500,000 in 1999. At the sarme tim,c the numilber of births attend(le( by traiiedi health workers climbedl to 51 percent from 36 percent. and thc number of childreti treate(l for pneumontia increasedl by 65 percent. In response to these rcsults, the World Bank itn Jurte 2001 approved $35 mlillion for the project's sccon(l phase. t-his seconrl phase of the initiative has as its overall goal a reduction of infanit mortality to no tmore than 48 for every 1,000 babies born by 2008, versus 67 for each 1.000 in 1998. The prograin also will expandl health coverage to an acdlitiotial 25 percenlt of the populatiol. or about 2 mTillion people, by assigning new health teams supportedl by incdigcnous community agents to the poorest regionis of the country. 24 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Teaching Women to Read and Write in Senegal It is witlely acknowledged that educating women-given the pivotal role they play in teaching children and keeping them:. healthy-is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty. in Senegal's countryside, the majority of women. aged 15 to 39 cannot read or write. Not surprisingly, childlrcn of illiterate mothers in Z3I Senegal are more likely to die young and less likely to attend school. The Senegal Pilot Female Literacy project -4i dcveloped an approach for non-governmental organizations to expand their programs with the aim of lowering the illiteracy rate to about 40 percent overall in Senegal, and to 47 percent it - for wonien. The project succeeded in E / ,q , surpassing Senegal's target of teaching 135,000 adults to read and write. 5 5 The project proved to have a positive impact on the social conditions of communities and in increasing female involvement in civic life. Over 80 percent of all participants were women, and the dropout rate has greatly improved over traditional programs. Helped by the World Bank and other donors like the Canadian Intemational Development Agency, the Senegalese govemment is on track toward its goal of halving the female illiteracy rate by 2005. The government is stepping up efforts on monitoring and evaluation. Combating Drought in Morocco In the Moroccan countryside, old farming methods, low-value crops, and patchy health care and schooling have kept many people mired in poverty. In 1994 and 1995, a drought that reduced Morocco's agricultural gross domestic product by 45 percent threatened to cause severe long-term damage. The WorlTd Bank responded with a $100 nlillion Emergency Drought Recovery Project aime(d at restoring crop and livestock production, improving rural roads, and supplying drinkable water. A seed distribution program, combined with plentiful rain, enabled cereal production to recover 25 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION to 9.7 mlillioni tons in the 1995-96 season from 1.6 million tons in the 1994-95 crop. A water supply coniponient hrought clean driniking water to 196.000 rural people, and is expecte(l to significantly improve the health of chil(lrcn and el(derly pcople in particular. The project also supported the construction anti rehabilitationi of 1.650 kilometers of rural roads. Protecting the Amazon Rainforests of Brazil What starte(e as an eflort to contain clamage within one area of the Brazilian Amazon is now emnerginig as a blueprint For the protection of ilhe Amazon itself. ltI 1999, 40 pcrcent of the deforestation withln thc Amazon region took place in Brazil's Mato Grasso atricultural state, whichi spans almost 91 millioli hcctares and is lloille to 2.5 iiiiionl peop)le. It is one of linte states that comiprises thc Brazilian side of the Amazon. to response, the Brazilian govermllent \Tg I g ._ _ , Ji4 ^ and the World Bank created the Rain Forest Pilot Program, which has helped re(luce (deforestation tby one-thircd itn ~' . .s Mato Grosso since t998. Thle numlilber -LG*3 -- -~ ~ i of fires lias been reduced by 38 percent 0 \\. - - E in the year 2000 alone. Due to the successful results of Mato Grosso, the Brazilian Ministry of Environmiienit deci(le(d to expanld the program to inclu(le the entire Amazon. The licensing of rural properties will begin in 43 municipalities in the states of Mato Grosso, Par i, and Rond6nia. all of which aCcoun1ted for hO percent of total deforestation in hthe Amazon between 1997 and 1999. In September 2002, the World Bank joined with the World Wildlife Fond and( the Braziliaii governmnent to launCe the Amazon Region Protecte(i Areas Program, a 10-year initiative that will triple thc amount of Amazonian rainforest under protection to an area twice thle size of the UJnited Kingdlom. Fighting HXV/Al[DS in Chad As in other parts of Africa. the AIDS epidermic has led t(c government in Chad to reassess its national health priorities, and in particular focus on thie (lifficulties facing Chiadian womilCIe who have long suffered from a laick of access to education atii proper lhealth care. 26 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Roughly three quarters of women in Chad age(d 15 to 49 have no schooling. 80 percent many while in their teens, and more than half havc had their first child before turning 18. Ihe use of moclern contraception is virtually non existent. Only one in four Chadian women have access to trained assistance while giving birth, so that niateriial mortality in Chad, estimated at 827 per 100,000 live births, ranks among the highest in the world. In response to these challeng:es, the Chadian government with outsicle doncors developed a National Health Strategy, and a National AIDS Control Strategic Plan. To support these plans, the World Bank is providing thc government $41.5 undcer a Healilt Sector Support Project ancl a $24.6 million for a population and AIDS control project. An initial population and AIDS project, which became effective in 1995, helped the governiment to put in place a multi-sector AIDS prevention plan and trained niore thaln 40 local non- governmental organizations in project development andc maniagement. The secondl project, building on the results of the first, is currently carrying out population control and HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives at the comimunity level. Knowledge about modern contraception metho(ds, the existence of AIDS, and how the IlIIV virus spreads, is steadily growing. More than 300,000 con(loms are now sold every month, about 1 5 percent more than expected at the start of the project. Backing Entrepreneurs in Latvia A(gris Smelteris employs 28 people in a small business that makes plastic window frames. He also runs a cafe and two shops. What makes him unusual is that he lives in the l.atvian countryside, where he is one of a growing number of farmers whose entrepreneurial flair is changing the way of life for people in rural areas. In the absence of any private sector interest, the Agricultural Finance Company (AFC) was set up in 1993 with support from the World Bank. _ Its credit officers took financial serviCes to the farmers-an approach that helped overcome farmers' lack of transportation. The success of the AFC was impressive. In its first five years, with just 42 staff, it approvedc sonie 2.860 loans for a total of $43 million. Repayment performance was lligh, ancl it remailns at over 90 percent. Thie AFC helped establish a rural financial system based on commercial Ieniding terrms, and conditionis that were later adopted by commercial banks. 27 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Cultivating Eco-Friendly Coffee in EL Salvador Since traditional coffee cultivation can harmn the ecosystemil, efforts have been made to . develop methods that will help niaintain' biodiversity. Shacic-growio coffee seems to be one answer. As part of a Coffee and Biodiversity Project in El Salvador, a group of World Bank experts recelitly concluded that this type of coffee cultivation is not only a plus for i -- the environment, but it can also be a - ; profitable source of income for small antId medium-size producers. Some Salvadoran farmers recently switchied to shade-grown coffee techniques and turned F their agriculture project into a lucrative venture, placing their procluct oti gourmiet world coffee markets. The project has shown J ! , j that a comparatively small investment, $750,000 in this case, canr have a significant.t effect, because the project cati be extenicecld and replicated in the future. As ati outcome - t. of the project, 224 coffee plantatiorts will be certifiecl with the ECO/OK seal, which the Rain Forest Alliance grants to fartiners who cultivate coffee in a manner consistent with biodiversity preservation. Four coffee processing plants will be certified as well. There are more than 130 coffee species on certified Iplantations. while only five species have been recorded in areas where coffee is grown uncier the suil. Producers who took part in the project had to satisfy a variety of criteria, ranging fromil shade dlensity to a minimum nuLimber of trees, to receive their certification. They chiose to participate in the hope that becoming certified would bring favorable economic returms. in adclition to helping to preserve the ecosystem. Improving Public Services in Uganda It1 May 2001, Uganda became the first country to benefit from a Poverty Recluctioti Support Credit. a new approach to Woricl Bank lendinq aitoed at improving the delivery of basic social services. A year later, noticeable strides have been mlacle it improvitig the quality of education, healthi care, and water and satiltation services. I-laving strugglecd in recent years to recruit teachers, the 28 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Ugandan government now is adding 1,000 teachers to the payroll each montlh. New healtih care reformis, such as greater adivocacy of contraception, have helped to reduce the numiiber of people infectecl with HIV. The rate of tuberculosis infcction is also lecrTeasing. Water availability has steadily improved both in rural and urban areas. In the past two years. 1.5 million rural people have been provided with acccss to waler, under one of the largest rural waler and sanitation programs in Africa. Also, more than 6,000 new water connections a year have becn recorded in 12 major towns, many of which are home to Ugand3a's poor famliilies. Forming a Partnership for Farmers in Pakistan Climatic concditions in Pakistan's largest and least cleveloped province, Balochistan, range from merely dry to extremely arid. Soils are mostly thin, low in organic matter and prone to erosion. Yel agriculture is the mainstay of Balochistanl's economy, employing 67 perceilt of the labor force, ancd the lack of water is severely constraining agricultural development. In this challenging environiment, the Pakistani governmenit is responding through the Balochistan Community Irrigation and Agriculture Project. Fundie(d primarily by the Worlcl Bank and the government of the Netherlands, the project is (lesigned to benefit about 7,000 mostly poor families, who farm roughly 4,800 acres of land in the rugged terrain of southwesterin Pakistan. Typical of the project's success is EIa, a , - --- - ,--- the experience in Pandrarn, ant isolated village in a hilly, barren P _ region, 200 kilometers from .jJ _ Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. Before the project began, farmers . i 2 ha(l to dig channels along and across a dry riverbed to bring sprTig water to their fields. s 9 Today, much water was lost along the way, and flash floods often washed away the channels. The villagers still get water from the same spring, but now it is conveyed to the fields thirough masonry-lined channels and across the riverbed by three aqueducts. A siphon and a raised channel provide water to new areas, and diversion boxes have been installed to allocate water equitably among users. In addition, a pipelinie withi 46 standpipes has beeii laid to provide clean drinking water to the village. Therc is now an assure(l water supply to about 200 acres anl 79 families benefit. 29 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION 'I'hanks to the iimprove(d irrigatiotn system, farmers in Pand(ran are switching to commercial orchard crops, and the piped water supply has helped to reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases. The farmers constructed 25 percent of the channel works themseives, and a local contractor built the rest. 'I'he government granted the fundis for the piped water supp)ly, while the farnmer's organization paid 17.5 percent of the capital cost for the irrigation systemil. Altogether, thie entire plan cost tihe equivalent of only $385,000. Extending Social Services throughout the Philippines In the aftermatti of the Asian Financial Crisis, the Philippines' healthi and educationi sectors were scrarriblinm for resources. In t 998, spendinig on education-textbooks, classroom dIesks and chairs for students. and traininig programs for teachers-dwindled to a new low. The Department of Health spent only 25 percent of' its budget on drugs and medicine. 'rhese developments led to a serious (leterioration in the quality and accessibility of basic social services. The World Bank-fun(led Social Expenditure Management Project, approved in 2000, supported the government's provision of basic social services to the poorest parts of the country. About 375.000 families in 3,700 villages have been assisted througlh the proyram. The loan also helped to maintain and operate centers, inistitutiotns and programs for clistressed and disadvantaged groups. serving about 33,000 child(ren; 9,000 adolescents: 40,000 women: and 5,000 persons with clisabilities. Among the outcomes of' the project have been thie building of 675 new classrooms and the repair and maintenance of anotier 15,000. Sonie 25 million textbooks have been tlistributecl. Sonic 545,000 dlesks and chairs have been delivered to schools throughout the country. Roughly 5,000 teachers have been trainecl in teachilnt mlethods. Keeping Students in School in Indonesia As the East Asian crisis iltenisifiedl in 1997, it became increasingly clear that the social sectors. including eclucation, were bearing the brunt of the fiscal cost. To keep students-especially those f'ronm poor families-ill primary and secondary schools, the World Bank in July 1998 committecd $282 million to Ilelp launch lildonesia's Back-to-Sciool program, with additionlal sul)port from the Asian l)evelopment Bank and the governomeint of tile Netherlands. The core of' the campaign is a Scholarshiip and Grant Program, which is han(ling out scholarships to 6.5 mlillion poor stu(dents over the five-year term of the project. Half of all scholarships awartie(i so far have bcen to girls. Nearly four imlillion schiolarships have been given to childrenl of poor househiolrls and 132,000 schools received block grants from the program. T'he dropout rate among scholarshlip recipients has been only 2 percent and the post-financial crisis fall in enrollnent rates hlas been muci lower thani was feare(d at the program's outset. 30 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Expanding Health Care in Mexico Two of the main obstacles to * 1 _ improving public health services 71 for Mexico's poor have been the - - population dispersion in rural - . areas, and the difficult - geographic obstacles to reaching those in remote villages. A Mexican government initiative. the Expansion of Basic Health Services Program, has sought to reach these people. The program I is backedi by a $660 million loan from the World Bank. An unprecedented collaboration between the federal and local governments created hundreds of mobile health units that deliver a basic healtlh care package inclucling: basic sanitation, diarrhea control, family planning, prevention and treatment of parasitic diseases, health and nutrition information, immunizations, child delivery, and prevention and control of tuberculosis and cervical cancer. 'I'hanks to the Five-year old program, basic public health services were extended to 8.2 million people, mostly in small communiities, who previously had no access to basic ticaltti care. Helping Communities Help Themselves in Benin Agriculture is the mainstay of Benin's economy, employing 70 percent of its population and accounting for nearly 40 percent of its GDP. To help the rural poor-especially women-utilize their environment in more efficient and sustainable ways, the World Bank in 1998 launched the Borgou Pilot Rural Support project. Its prmary goal was to encourage local institutions-village committees in particular-to embrace collective decision-making. As suchi, it helped communities carry out their own development plans and made it easier for villagers to get access to basic health and education services. Cutting the red tape by connecting local project staff with villagers has greatly contributed to the project's success. So far, it has funded more than 528 small projects in 262 villages, all of which were identified, designed, and co financed by the communities themselves. The results: 79 village schools, 16 village health centers, 16 large wells for community water supply and 44 crop storages have been built. The project has supported 150 basic literacy courses delivered in local languages to 2,200 women and 2,500 meni. It has also offered 262 technical training courses on subjects as varied as financial management, bee keeping, fishing, and refining crops. 31 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Expanding Girls' Education in Turkey ' ~ i - z 3- .1 In thc early and mid-I 990s. falling Inrollmellt rates plagued Turkey's school Csysten. In 1997. the country launched3 a . | X ; <_ - Basic Education Program. partially f'undecd by two World Bank projects of $300 -' illion each. iI'his program has allowed the government to - 7 4 ' - -*extendC thec duration of compulsory education fromn fivc years to eight years, and( to pursue :.. e. .t \\ .nationwide improvecriits in the qualily of ,r_ > kllil P Se -Jr = I basic etlucation. 1t includes a ntimber of major initiatives to expand school capacity. to upgrade teachinig and Iearning materials. P. <_j 1>._F - S! t- j and to improve school attendance. During 1999. the program constructed 802 basic education schools and expandiecl 1,106 " 1 -I *!j. 1 existing basic education schools. The I additional space broughit a 802,000 niew 4; Jw \ studenits into Turkish schools. X lt 2000, another 4,152 basic education classrooms were built, creating space for 125,000 more students. Although total basic education enrollment had decliniecd dLurinig the six years prior to the program's launcih, it increased by 900,000 since September 1998-an unprecedenitecd result. Girls' enrollmenit in rural areas has made Ilte most rapid progress-with enrollment in sixth gracle increasing by 162 percent (luring the program's first year. and with continiuincg increases in the years afterward. Coverage, in terms of the proportion of the age groul) enrolled in basic education, increased by 1.5 millionl, surqing to 910/o in 1999/2000 from 76 p)ercent in 1996/1997. Improving Children's Health in Madagascar In Madagascar. childreni across thc country have been afflicte(l by a remarkably higch rate of infectioni by various intestinial wormis, whichi can cause anemia. A comnmunity-based response, supporte(d by the WorIdi Bank, has brought action on several fronts, ranging from nutritionial supplemients to grants for school water tanks. tn almost four years, SEECALINE-a Community 32 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT nutrition program in Madagascar-has treated 1.2 million students, preschoolers and non- enrolled school-aged children for intestinal parasites. The program has provided iron supplements to 800,000-students, funded 71 micro-projects, and trained 20.000 teachers. Under the same program, parents, children, and teachers-working with local non- governmental organizations-can apply for grants for school water tanks and latrines to decrease the chances of parasite re-infections. Teachers are also trained to provide education in good nutrition and hygiene to children during regular classes, which discourages re- infection and encourages children to include iron in their regular diet. The program continues to tackle iocline tdeficiency-another prevalent, but easily remedied problem-which causes mental retardation and )poor growth in all children, and can cause younger childiren to become deaf. Iodine cleficiency affects all children's capacity to learn. In a primary school in the village of Soamierana, children were asked to bring in table salt from their houses to be tested in school using a simple test kit provided by UNICEF. The salt proved to be plain salt without any iodine. With new-found self-confidence, the children informed their parents that they should no longer buy salt from the local merchant. Pressure from parents and the commnuniity persuacled the merchant to restock his slhop with iodized salt. Restoring Agriculture in Sri Lanka At one tfie, farming communities in Sri Lanka's northeast region were among the most productive - - in the country. But 20 years of civil conflict forced A - a large number of families to flee their lands, causing the social and economic fabric of the countryside to fall apart. The North East lnigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP), backed by $27 million from the World Bank, has enabled farmers to retum to their fields i. . and increase the amount of irrigated land by 2,900 hectares-benefiting about 4,700 families. The project has supported the rehabilitation of 61 -,v kilometers of roads and has provided 225 wells brimming with clean drinking water. More than 100,000 poor people are expected to benefit from 3 the project by the time of its completion in 2005. .. - 33 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION Improving Health Care in Bulgaria A young doctor from the tiny village of Dorkovo was completitg his residenicy itn Pleven, a mneclical university town in Bulgaria, wheni he hear(d of a World Bank-funded project that was to chanige his life. Soon thereafter, Dr. Nikolay Belev deciidec to leave his academic work and move back to Dorkovo, together with his wife, to become the genecral practitioner and prinmary health care provider to the village's 3,000 rcsidents. A $26 million Bank loan has assisted the Bulgarian governmnent in its efforts to restructure the health sector. primarily targeting rural andl underservecd areas while seeking to improve Bulgaria's health care efficiency and quality. The resulting project created incenitives for physicianis like Dr. Belev to open practices in rural and remote regions b)y providing training andc state-of-tihe-art medical equipment. As a result of the Bank's assistance, some 1 070 general practitionlers were trainecl and over tN400 medical practices-vacant three years a(go-have been tilled anci adclguately equipped. Out of Bulgaria's 8.1 million citizenis, over 1.5 millioni people living in rural and renmote areas now have access to quality primary healtlh care services. An Emergenicy Medical Services systeni is now operating in each of the country's 28 emerg ency centers. The World Bank-sup)porte projeet providled new equiplmllent and amblulanCes, better communuication systems and improved management, which resultedl in a tlhreefol(d (lecrease in mortality rates for emergency cases in 2001. 'I'le national blood transfusion network now meets European standards for safely and quality. Bringing Education to the Poor of Uganda When the Ugandan government introduced a new universal primary education policy in 1996, enrollment jumpecd by 70 percentt in one year-from 3.1 millioni in 1 996 to 5.1 millio in 1 997. This cdramatic surge in the student body requirc( an imme(riate and matchingr increase in teachers and other resources.. With the Education Sector Ad justimient Creclit, the World Bank and the lJgand(lan governmen1t have successfully tackled this challenge, and in less than three years. the has project helped increase access to basic ec3ucation and s. I .I w II reduce the wealth and gjender inequity in primary schools. Househioldl surveys taken in 1992 and 1999 showe(d that the nublher of (isadlvantagedl students enrolled in schools rose to 84 percent from 50 percent, while the enrollmienit of more affluent children showei an increase from 82 percent to 85 percent. Also, among econonmically disadvantaced 9 to 12-year-olths, female enrollmenl rose from 59 to 89 percelt, while enrollmieit of boys increased to 91 percent from 67 percent. :34 Ligh~t to Stunls of Brazil ofRcna. 3re of L-at-lO Nimeicais of ggoc tofind WodT - ssl S,the S sge~ie is ascSocial 5riC S61 n t h e b a s ice t o f f r ,e l e c t "o i ~O" a riA these yjsk stem rm h stepS side ae otc vih extreri nsk -1 -" obition IS to rto de 1i I l 0W cO St, an d l o ci an d }n we io' maine po rs oWder. 15)Of and di2tflbI'l oc n c on erc a isks b n a d guari m e fro m t hle \N 0Tl16 ti~~ t Ih e l a tet r n i t f o r l d i fat i n t e I nf r l s m . t g t $ W k n g n h e c t S in iie o es-Atablish kns pga epo r e intal ra sfr er a meiter. n it lca reiet bu sf,csefctepWruae.Telmn s vokf han3d- Po `31 ANOsTo ' m akesu e reidnt nd st dth pr ra adtoaddress theiTr .,i , t o s t a b l 5 b a e ' p rg r a m d e oSu 5 r f o u r c e o f p o w e r t With oai eidnsehgttn ret crdit, in e*l2oi,aveiiet ofrsdec,ncestf docu icb in 20(o "~~~~~~~~~~~ac hed o uit ition to other benefits ~ ~~thebt program , Whic in y 7200 r slums and ition C~~~ ects to 13e p~~~red IA' . -zidding ercrnc has aded a neWq urgen" lt CO recent pOW ow-income "ts b \N ab o ut 1 5 o m m un it, an d ..~ ~u lar " a re a s -h S i t 0 e i t im4 7Ge0 N coninectiois- )rnel7c to TrfS~ giU re inl Azerballan ~ hingiL ov. a frme nSans o m. .: .zraln s o d o i cottOn plants le i ri,ingz vius yno"Withj thle to m, is 00thing far e n S l, 0 S s\n y 'ecl tilug hisuccessa otfTCh eVeO, more pl SovitIe) viet Rq)ublic, b's ~ ~~~~~~~35 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION rule, collective farms grew only statc-prescribed crops. and farmers received a monthly income that bore no relation to how miluchi they producecd or how hardl they worked. As a result of a farni privatization program funded, in part. by the World Bank, farmers in Azerbaijan have taken farming decisions itito their own hands. 'I'he program provides farmiers like Huseyniov with a piece of lanci-coniplete with a title which provcs his ownership of the property-and access to fresh capital. It is part of an effort to transform agriculture in Azerbaijan into a dynamic. market-oriented sector based on privatc farming. Thie program has helped farmiers cope with the country's serious water shortage by makinig major repairs to canals and pumps, and carrying out constructionn work on dirainage facilities. In total, 23.000 Azerbaijani farmers have benefited from the project, and most have seen a dramatic increase in their respective crop yields. The farmiers say that the incenitive of private ownership makes them work harder. "Now that the land is mine, I put in cxtra effort to carn more money for my family," said Xeyrulla Maniedov. another successful farmer in Salyan. Today, Huseynov legally ownIs his five-hectare parcel of land and uses it however he wishes. He sells cottonseeds and hay to his neighlbors, and feeds his livcstock with barlcy harvested from his farm. Improving Living Conditions in Venezuela With more than half of its 2 million inhabitants liviiig in unplanned squatter settlements, the Venezuelan capital of Caracas is face(d with immenise challenige in delivering basic services to its people. Responding to the government's request for assistance, the World bank has initiated a $60.7 million Caracas Urban Upgrading Project, which is among the largest World Bank-financed programs aimcdl at providing integrated, basic urban services to slum-dwellers. This project. which began in 1999, is the first of what is expected to be a long-term government program aimed at improving the living condlitions of slum dwellers not only in Caracas, but in other major Venezuelan cities as well. About halfway through the projected five-year implementation period, and following a difFicult beginning, the project has begun to show clear and promising results. So far, the project has improved the living conditions of approximately 250,000 residents living in the large slum settlements of Petare Norte and La Vega il metropolitan Caracas. 36 STORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Banking in Bosnia The bitter war that rocked Bosnia and Herzegovina brought devastation on many fronts, includinig the complete collapse of the country's banking system. Thc loss of people's lifesavinqs led to widespread distrust, making the operation of most banks unviable. Today, a number of key reforms and the entry of foreign financial institutions, with access to capital and better lendciiig contlitions, are helping to restore faith in the system. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is contributing to the recovery of the banking sector by providing guarantees to a number of foreign banks, includinig coverage for the expansion and diversification of an Austriaii bank, Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank, throughout the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. Hypo Bank offers a variety of services, including corporate and individual lending. The bank is helping to make reconstruction more affordable to everyday citizens and to restore the country's production base by I. offering lower-interest, longer-term capital to local investors. Its clients are engaged in a variety of sectors, including the production of food, furniture, anid Jf "WI ("1 _- construction materials. With most of Bosnia's produc- . r tion facilities destroyed in the war and alnost all goods importedl at a higher cost, these loans are critical to the country's economic reconstruction. One of the bank's clients, FeAI, produces aluminum window profiles. "It is very important for companies to . , have enough liquidity to expand operations and to face '- the increase in demand; availability of credit is <~iT'~. fundamental for the recovery of the local industry," says Mate Cujic, the company's director. Restoring China's Loess Plateau Millions of poor farmers live in China's dry and remote Loess Plateau region, one of the remote areas where incomes are significantly lower than other parts of the country and where population growth, illiteracy, disease are all higher. Here, centuries of excessive use of natural resources and unsustainable farming practices- combined with huge population pressures-have led to massive environmenital degradation, downstream floods, and widespread poverty. Indeed, this region has the highest soil erosion rates of anywhere in the world. Crop yields are dangerously low, aiitd people live in near 37 THE WORLD BANK IN ACTION subsistence cond(itionis. Roughly 1.6 billion tons of sedimenit clog the Yellow River annually and pose a serious floo( risk in the lower reaches. 'I'ogether with the Chiniese Ministry of Water Resources and the local population, the World Bank formulated a watershe(d management approach that offers a sustainable solution to end this vicious cycle. Over a perioud of seven years, the project has helped I million pcople out of poverty and has fundamrientally improved the ecological environiment in the region. Erosion has becii substantially reduced through massive reforestation eff'orts, the discontinuation of farniling on steep slopes, and the establishment of large-scale terracing antI( se(IinicIt control structures. 'I'he project has also staved ofl' soil erosion and reduced the amount of secliment seeping into the Yellow River. 'I'he Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation project is being hailed as a mod3el for water conservation-a mo(lel that is increasingly being applied throughout China. This project is onie of' the largest and most successful crosion control programs in the world. All photographs copyrigh(t WVold Bank Group, except pate 1 5 (copyrigtht Christoffel Blindenrissionl) andl pages 26 and 28 (Ihoto(lisc-Getty Imilages). Selected photos from Illhuminatng Developm77ent collection of thc Worldc Bank Photo Library. Photographer credits: Alex Baluyut (page 12), 'I'ran Thi Hoa (page 23). John Isaac Ipage 1 7), Alejandro Lipszyc (pages 1 and 1 8). Bill tyons (pagte 1 4), Eric Miller (page 7), and( Shchlzad Noorani (pa9gcs 3 and 11). 38 CDC CD E , ° ° D * ~~~'~ ~ ~~ A~' E D2 a O X - C 20 v n X~ - , 1p 4