Since the 2020 Annual Meetings, the Human Capital • Cross-sectoral interventions are critical to improve • Securing resources for human capital priorities Project network has welcomed three new members– human capital outcomes across life cycles. With especially during fiscal adjustments. To ensure a Japan, Madagascar, and North Macedonia—joining a strong commitment to the early years, Bhutan resilient recovery, human capital is the theme of in early 2021. The Ministerial Conclave facilitates approved the Accelerating Mother and Child Health Bhutan’s 2021-2022 budget. Guyana has prioritized knowledge sharing among the ministers of finance and Program, which provides cash transfers to ensure human capital investments as part of its Low MINISTERIAL planning as well as the senior government officials who optimal health and nutrition for mothers and their Carbon Development Strategy. In Egypt, launching serve as human capital country focal points across the children. The program also introduced a day- progressive energy subsidy reforms has allowed HCP country network. feeding program in all the schools in rural Bhutan. the government to use the fiscal space to roll out CONCLAVE Madagascar multiplied its budget for schools more cash transfer programs and reallocate resources to In his opening remarks, David Malpass, President, World than ten-fold, focusing on school meal programs, health and education. By incentivizing sub-national Bank Group, highlighted three important priorities: subsidies for school funds, and teacher support. and local governments, India has linked government And in support of an early transition to green jobs, expenditures to specific human capital outcomes to • Investing in people: Countries must act immediately to Bahrain embedded environmental sustainability and expand fiscal space in federal systems. Indonesia protect people who were disproportionately affected awareness in school curriculums and training. enhanced its domestic resource mobilization, with Investing in by the pandemic and formulate measures to address longer-term human capital setbacks and deficits. • Efficient expenditures and good governance: Building Resilient Service Delivery human capital investments representing the largest proportion of its total budget. Systems Human Capital High-level leadership and effective coordination will be required to increase spending efficiency and effectiveness. Good governance can help improve • Innovation, including accelerating the use of technology, paves the way to build back Crisis as an Opportunity • Throughout the Conclave, countries highlighted their for a Green, service delivery by harnessing advancements in determination to utilize the crisis as an opportunity to better. Kenya further invested in ICT and digital technology. accelerate reforms. infrastructure in schools to help students regain • Freeing up fiscal space: Prioritizing human capital learning losses and promote youth employment o The Education 2.0 reform in Egypt helped to lay Resilient and investments may require hard choices. For example, opportunities. With the vaccine rollout, Saudi out the necessary infrastructure for online some countries may consider reducing energy Arabia leveraged digital registries to include high- education as schools faced closure. The social subsidies to fund cash transfers to the poor while risk segments of the population. Digitalization and registry reform in North Macedonia helped with Inclusive others could improve revenue systems to support modernization of education and social protection effective targeting. And fiscal reform and prudent growth and investments. Concurrently, international systems are also critical, as examples provided by bank supervision policies in Ukraine allowed the financial assistance will be needed to help fund Uzbekistan (Single Registry for Social Protection) government to borrow and increase budget deficits Recovery priorities including human capital investments. and North Macedonia (Social Service Improvement to mobilize resources for the crisis response. Project) demonstrate. The policy paper, Investing in Human Capital for a o Countries such as Philippines, Saudi Arabia, India Resilient Recovery: The Role of Public Finance, framed and Indonesia, utilized the crisis as an opportunity the Conclave and stimulated rich discussions around four Promoting Economic Opportunities to accelerate financial inclusion, protect livelihoods, On April 5, 2021, ministers of important themes: While Ensuring Environmental and improve education and health infrastructure and finance and planning, together Fiscal Sustainability incentivize the use of renewable energy. with high-level government Restoring Human Capital • Good governance is required to translate fiscal As the session came to a close, Mari Pangestu, Managing officials and development • Inclusive investments in health, early childhood policies into human capital outcomes. Uzbekistan Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, World partners from the 81 HCP development, learning, and women’s economic transitioned toward performance-based budgeting Bank encouraged countries to make their voices heard empowerment can contribute to an inclusive, resilient, with greater budget transparency and social sector for a strong IDA-20 replenishment, where human capital member countries, participated and sustainable recovery. To reach vulnerable budgeting. Indonesia offered insights on improving will be introduced as the fifth special theme. in the Human Capital Project segments of the population, the Philippines accelerated allocative efficiency, such as internet connectivity Ministerial Conclave to discuss its national ID program to support financial inclusion, and comprehensive subsidy reform, toward vaccine distribution and the expansion of cash human capital outcomes. Both India and Indonesia Related links: the importance of investing transfers. Egypt broadened the scope of its social emphasized fiscal consolidation on revenue reform in human capital for a green, safety net program, Takaful and Karama, to reach and reprioritization of expenditures on human capital The Human Capital Financing Policy Paper more women and support unemployment benefits for and climate change for a more sustainable and AM2020 Conclave Summary resilient and inclusive recovery informal sector workers. Kenya provided cash transfers green recovery. Egypt partnered with NGOs to reach AM2019 Conclave Summary from the COVID-19 crisis. to people with disabilities and the elderly. vulnerable populations and improve service delivery. SM2019 Conclave Summary PROTECT AND INVEST in people WORLD BANK GROUP INDONESIA BAHRAIN KENYA GUYANA David Malpass, President Ukur Yatani Ashni Singh Sri Mulyani Salman bin Khalifa Cabinet Secretary, National “This agenda is critical to alleviating extreme poverty Senior Minister with Indrawati Al Khalifa Treasury & Planning and boosting shared prosperity, and it’s even more critical Responsibility for Minister of Finance Minister of Finance “As governments prioritize Finance and National Economy now to lay the foundation for a resilient recovery.” “Digital technologies health and economic safety “We view human will provide a lot of “We must seek to nets, it is imperative that capital development help in transforming protect our human we also focus on building a as both a critical the economy toward capital gains and do so foundation for long-term prerequisite for and more consistent human in a way that ensures recovery through quality education, the surest way THE WORLD MADAGASCAR EGYPT BHUTAN a critical objective capital investments and environmental and to prepare our children to of economic growth” a green recovery.” fiscal sustainability.” BANK Richard J. Rania Al-Mashat Lyonpo Namgay seize the opportunities of the 21st century and make Randriamandrato Minister of International Tshering Mamta Murthi meaningful contributions Minister of Finance Cooperation Minister of Finance to development.” Vice President of Human Development “We need to reinvent “We are very proud “Bhutan will soon be tomorrow’s world because that through partner- instituting a conditional “Investing in people we cannot overlook the ships with the World cash transfer mechanism is central to economic negative impact of the Bank, we can push to ensure a better out- recovery.” coronavirus pandemic.” forward more of these come of healthy citizens projects to help protect in generations to come.” vulnerable groups.” THE WORLD BANK Mari Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships “A key immediate challenge is financing and making sure that the social sectors are protected throughout the recovery phase, with smart policies and efficient public expenditures. Crisis can be utilized to continue the reforms and make the changes permanent for the better.” THE SAUDI ARABIA INDIA UZBEKISTAN PHILIPPINES N.K. Singh Karl Chua Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan Chairman of 15th Finance Timur Ishmetov Minister of Finance Statements Commission Secretary for Socioeconomic Planning Minister of Finance and “We must provide BURKINA FASO PAKISTAN SINGAPORE UKRAINE Minister of Economy “Now the one important adequate fiscal and Director-General of instrument, which we “All these actions [in the “Particularly, in the time of “We need to use this “We need to and Planning resources for the National Economic and have found, is conditional public service education, health and crisis, a little effort goes downtime to develop our implement learning Development Authority “The power of transfers. … At the state leveraging digital level, we have made a large modernization.” social protection sectors] a long way. Accordingly, skills and step up training recovery programs, “The Philippines tools alongside other part of resources for the have been taken despite development partners, for workers in hard-hit protect educational has a long history, complementary measures municipalities conditional the difficult financial particularly IFIs, are required sectors… This will enable our budgets, and actually, of using crisis on improving health as opportunity to do is the lesson that will go context, given that human to leverage additional people to be equipped with prepare for future infrastructure, drinking longstanding reforms.” beyond the crisis.” water, sanitation, water capital is a strategic financial resources to relevant skills in the post- shocks by “building harvesting, and reducing priority in the context of create fiscal space and let COVID economy to avoid back better.” pollution.” our economic and social developing countries save extended unemployment and development vision.” lives and livelihoods.” permanent loss of skills.” Sergii Marchenko Minister of Finance Lassané Kabore Makhdum Khusro Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Minister of Economy, Bakhtyar Prime Minister, Coordinating Finance, and Development Minister for Economic Affairs Minister for Economic Policies, Minister of Finance PROTECT AND INVEST in people