This note provides an update of recent poverty and shared prosperity dynamics, and some of the underlying drivers, as well as introducing the new international poverty thresholds that are currently in use.
... See More + The purpose of the update is to take advantage of the release of Household Budget Survey (HBS) data for the 2016 survey round. The previous poverty and shared prosperity update, release in 2017, updated poverty and shared prosperity trends up to 2015. The first section discusses the overall progress poverty reduction and shared prosperity up to 2016 – the latest available household budget survey data. Notably, the poverty dynamics are presented, for the first time, using PPP values based on the 2011 ICP exercise, and using the newly adopted Income Class poverty thresholds of $3.3/day and $5.5/day. For the purposes of this note, we focus on the $5.5/day threshold, but the section also presents a comparative analysis of poverty dynamics based on old and new thresholds. Because this is the first time when internationally-comparable poverty and shared prosperity statistics for Moldova are presented based on the ICP 2011 PPP conversion factors, and relying on newly defined income-group based thresholds, the introduction has a brief discussion of the reasons behind the change in the World Bank’s poverty methodology used for global poverty monitoring, and the implications of this change for poverty trends over time and for the absolute levels of poverty reported in Moldova. Section 2 discussed the major drivers of shared prosperity during the 2011-2016 period. Section 3 examines the profile of poor and vulnerable populations, their asset endowments, and changes in this profile in recent years.
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Romania lags behind other European Union (EU) countries in many health outcomes. The government of Romania plans to build three new regional hospitals in the North-West (NW), North-East (NE), and South-West (SW) regions.
... See More + These are envisaged to be tertiary referral hospitals providing highly complex care to their region. Five or six further regional hospitals may follow this first batch. Regional hospitals are not just bricks and mortar, but the apex of a complex regional health system. As flagship public hospitals, regional hospitals are planned to be the hub of each regional health system. Work to date, however, has focused on design and construction rather than how regional hospitals will interact and coordinate with other facilities. To highlight factors in the wider health system that are crucial to the role of regional hospitals, the World Bank undertook a comprehensive assessment of regional referral networks in Romania. This report drew on available hospital activity data, stakeholder interviews, and literature review to assess the extent to which these factors are in place using tracer conditions, such as total knee replacements and stroke. In conclusion, without as much attention to coordination of care within regional health networks as construction of regional hospitals, the hospitals will not be able to fulfil their promise as flagship providers of complex care.
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This publication is the executive summary of the “Romania Water Diagnostic Report,” prepared by the World Bank to support its water sector dialogue with the Government of Romania.
... See More + The full report aims to provide stakeholders, especially from the Romanian Government and the European Commission, with a comprehensive stock-taking of the situation in the Romanian water sector in 2017, 10 years after the country joined the EU. The report documents the current situation, discusses the main lessons learned from reforms in water resources management, water supply sanitation and irrigation, and identifies the key water challenges faced by Romania. While not pretending to cover all possible water-related issues (due inter alia to limited access to some information), it seeks to identify the key policy issues and indicate what steps the government could consider in the near future. The situation in the water sector in Romania is analyzed through the lens of water security, with a focus on compliance with EU water legislation and the inclusion of the poor. Water security is a broad concept that encompasses ensuring sustainable use of water resources, delivering affordable services to all, and mitigating water-related risks in a context of change—the goal being to build a water secure future for the people, the economy and the environment in a context of global changes. In the case of Romania, the over-arching concept of water security is closely linked to compliance and inclusion.
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Moldova’s reformers have long sought to strengthen the rule of law including the independence, efficiency, and integrity of its courts. A well-functioning justice sector is critical for good governance, reducing corruption, and efficient delivery of public services.
... See More + The Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) is Moldova’s independent self-regulating body for the judiciary, overseeing judges’ appointments, transfers, and promotions. Moldova’s national development strategy, Moldova 2020, approved by law in 2012, identified justice reform as a strategic priority. Despite numerous new laws, justice, and anti-corruption reform implementation remains lackluster, with some reforms compromised or throttled from inside the system. Access to justice for vulnerable groups - especially for women and girls - remains a key concern. The court reorganization is expected to lead to promotions, transfers, and terminations, unavoidable in a restructuring of this scale and ambition. The court reorganization provides an opportunity to significantly improve sector efficiency: over time, the reorganization will change the distribution of judges, and court staff across Moldova, in line with fewer court locations and increased application of technology. Judges’ performance evaluation and management need to become more transparent, accountable, and rule-based. The justice sector reform strategy (JSRS) declared the promotion and implementation of zero tolerance for justice sector corruption as a key objective, but Moldova has a long way to go, as the 2017 surveys of court users show.
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Report 124516 JAN 01, 2018
Padilla,Susana M.; Solomatova,Aleksandra; Strah,Viorica Dumitri; Mukherjee,Amitabha; Rusu,Constantin; Melis,Eva Maria; Siva,RameshEnglishDisclosed
This Guide was prepared by the Governance Global Practice Rule of law in ECA group in cooperation with YUCOM, a Serbian human rights NGOs. It aims at promoting access to justice in Serbia and strengthen legal literacy, especially among small business owners and the poorer sectors of society who cannot afford legal representation.
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Romania has made considerable progress in recent years towards reducing macroeconomic imbalances. Such reductions, together with monetary policies and structural reforms, either implemented or in progress, have contributed to maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability.
... See More + After the budget deficit peaked in 2009‐2011 in the context of the economic and financial crisis, Romania’s economy then started to recover, at first with a modest annual GDP growth rate of less than 1 percent, but increasing over the period 2013‐2015 to an average of 3.4 percent. The unemployment rate, however, remained constant at below 7 percent, while investments continued to rise, reaching 23.7 percent of GDP in 2015, which was the highest in the EU. Education policies and those aimed at increasing the quality of the workforce are paramount for combating poverty and supportingeconomic growth.The results, as contained in this report, are based on a new World Bank tool designed for this purpose. Known as SABER‐WfD, the tool is part of the World Bank’s initiative on Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) whose aim is to provide systematic documentation and assessment of the policy and institutional factors that influence the performance of education and training systems. The SABER‐WfD tool encompasses initial, continuing and targeted vocational education and training that are offered through multiple channels, and focuses largely on programs at the secondary and post‐secondary levels.
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The development objective of Education Reform Project for Moldova is strengthening the quality of education while supporting the efficiency reforms being implemented in the education sector.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) appropriate signposting of the sites will inform workers of key rules and regulations to follow; (ii) keep demolition debris in controlled area and spray with water mist to reduce debris dust; (iii) construction noise will be limited to restricted times agreed to in the permit; (iv) waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; (v) the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites (installation or reconstruction) must be approved by the local authorities; (vi) if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notify and obtain approval or permits from local authorities and address all construction activities in line with local and national legislation; (vii) if asbestos is located on the project site, mark clearly as hazardous material; (viii) appropriate storage facilities for medical waste are in place; and (ix) ensuring safe and continuous access to office facilities, shops and residences during renovation activities, if the buildings stay open for the public.
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The development objective of the Education Reform Project for Moldova is to strengthen the quality of education while supporting the efficiency reforms being implemented in the education sector.
... See More + Negative impacts include: dust, air quality, water pollution, cultural heritage, asbestos management, waste management, and soil erosion. Mitigation measures include: during interior demolition use debris-chutes above the first floor; keep demolition debris in controlled area and spray with water mist to reduce debris dust; suppress dust during pneumatic drilling/wall destruction by ongoing water spraying and/or installing dust screen enclosures at site; the site will establish appropriate erosion and sediment control measures such as e.g. hay bales and/or silt fences to prevent sediment from moving off site and causing excessive turbidity in nearby streams and rivers; waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; when possible the asbestos will be appropriately contained and sealed to minimize exposure; and the asbestos prior to removal (if removal is necessary) will be treated with a wetting agent to minimize asbestos dust.
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