The development objective of the Special Financing Facility for Local Development Project is to strengthen the legal, regulatory and institutional environment to provide a foundation for improved access and affordability of telecommunications services.
... See More + Since the countersignature of the Letter of Amendment dated November 4, 2016, Government has improved implementation and made significant progress towards achieving the PDO. The preparation of the report on options for introducing private sector investment is well advanced and will provide the blueprint for the next phase of sector reform and development in the Marshall Islands. However, based on the findings of the most recent Implementation Support mission carried out in June 2018, it is apparent that GVIC needs additional time to strengthen their analysis and improve the overall quality of their report. Government has requested an extension until July 15, 2019 to allow GVIC more time to complete their deliverables to a good standard and to continue working with the individual consultant to develop an implementation plan for the reform of MINTA. The Bank task team is monitoring progress closely and is providing enhanced implementation and technical support to help ensure that the outputs from the GVIC assignment are of a high quality consistent with international best practices. This Restructuring Paper seeks the approval of the Regional Vice President for an extension of the closing date from August 15, 2018 to July 15, 2019. This will be the second and final extension of the closing date resulting in a cumulative extension of 35 months from the original closing date. The request is accompanied by a letter from the Government of Republic of Marshall Islands, through the Ministry of Finance, dated June 15, 2018 and received by the Bank on June 18, 2018, requesting the extension of closing date. This Restructuring Paper also proposes consequential adjustments to the end target dates in the Results Framework from August 15, 2018 to July 15, 2019. No other changes are being proposed at the time of this restructuring.
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The Afghanistan Development Update is a twice-annual publication providing analysis of recent developments and presenting the World Bank team’s most-recent macroeconomic projections.
... See More + The August 2018 edition focuses on the state of the economy in the context of upcoming elections, and the potential for a loss of recent momentum as confidence declines. Special topics address: i) the potential for trade to underpin development in Afghanistan; ii) recent trends in poverty and welfare; and iii) priorities for improving education quality and coverage. Afghanistan has experienced slow growth since 2014, with the draw-down of international security forces, accompanying reductions in international grants, and a worsening security situation (growth has averaged 2.3 percent between 2014-2017). Following a period of political instability after the 2014 elections, the economy has slowly regained momentum as reforms have been implemented and confidence restored. From a low of 1.5 percent in 2015, real GDP growth accelerated to 2.3 percent in 2016, and is estimated at 2.7 percent for 2017. Building momentum now appears to be at some risk, with increasing election-related violence, declining business confidence, worsening drought conditions, and some apparent slowing of economic activity. Growth is projected at 2.4 percent in 2018, with substantial downside risks arising from the prospects of political instability around upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Risks can be partly mitigated and recent momentum maintained through: i) continued reform progress, demonstrating to investors that the deterioration in governance seen in 2014 will not be repeated; and ii) continued donor commitment to sustained grant support.
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Somalia’s economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2017. The economy remains vulnerable to recurrent shocks. Between 2013 and 2017, real annual GDP growth averaged 2.5 percent.
... See More + Growth occurred despite adverse weather conditions that severely reduced agricultural output in late 2016 and early 2017. For Somalia to enhance and sustain economic growth and escape chronic poverty, it must increase its resilience to shocks. Growth recovery is set to continue beyond 2018, lifted by gains from ongoing reforms as well as improved security. Rising domestic demand, remittances, and donor inflows and consolidation of peace and security are expected to drive growth in 2019–20. Achieving higher growth will require acceleration of structural reforms, particularly in three areas: fiscal policy and public financial management, provision of basic services (to promote human development and inclusion), and improved resilience to weather shocks particularly in the agriculture sector. Mobile money is an essential part of Somalia’s economic ecosystem. Almost three-quarters of the population aged 16 and above use mobile money on a regular basis. It is now the main transaction instrument used by both individuals and businesses across the country: presenting an opportunity to increase access to finance, spur inclusive growth, and promote resilient communities. However, with increasing dependence on mobile money as a medium of exchange comes increased vulnerabilities.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 129780 AUG 01, 2018
The development objective of the Regional Pastoral Livelihoods Resilience Project for Africa is to enhance livelihood resilience of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in cross-border drought prone areas of selected countries and improve the capacity of the selected countries’ governments to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency.
... See More + A reallocation between categories is also required following the activation of the CERC per Bank policy. The National Treasury submitted a request for a restructuring on April 17, 2018, which includes (i) proposed changes to components and their costs following the MTR; and (ii) the reallocation between categories to finance the implementation of the ERAP under the CERC.
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Developing countries face an increasingly complex risk landscape, marked by interconnected hazards that threaten to roll back the development gains of recent decades and undermine efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030.A recent synthesis of evaluations by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) concluded that the World Bank Group (WBG) generally has responded nimbly to shocks but that there is room for improvements—for example, in internal coordination, strategic programming, supporting and tapping the private sector, and sustaining engagement beyond crises.In 2016, at the request of Executive Directors, the WBG reviewed its crisis-related funding mechanisms and instruments, an exercise that resulted in the establishment of the Global Crisis Response Platform (GCRP).The platform brings together the full suite of financial tools the Bank Group has available to help countries manage crisis risks.
... See More + It aims to strengthen cooperation and leverage complementarities across units working on risk mitigation and crisis management.This paper fulfills a commitment Management made to Executive Directors in September 2016 to further develop and operationalize the platform—now renamed the Global Crisis Risk Platform (GCRP).The WBG capital package agreed in April 2018 highlights fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), and crisis risk management as central development challenges. As part of its policy commitments under the package, WBG Management proposes to strengthen its engagement in both areas. The GCRP will enhance support to clients facing complex and interconnected crisis risks and will thus play a key role in operationalizing the Bank’s pivot to prevention on crisis and FCV. The primary objective of the GCRP is to strengthen the Bank Group’s ability to provide a coherent and strategic approach to identifying and mitigating crisis risks in client countries before they turn into full-blown crises.As a network of operational and corporate units, the GCRP will serve as a forum to bring together the Bank’s expertise in crisis risk management, and to deepen partnerships with external actors.strengthen the World Bank’s focus on crisis management-related issues and, in particular, to trigger early preventive action, the GCRP will include dedicated institutional processes at Senior Management levels.This paper identifies four priority areas for strengthening the WBG’s crisis risk management capabilities: (a) adapting existing, and developing new, risk-monitoring tools to better capture multidimensional and compound risks, including cross-border spillovers (Chapter 2); (b) further shifting the focus of in-country and regional programming from response to prevention and preparedness, including by incorporating lessons of experience (Chapter 3);(c) reinforcing the Bank’s crisis risk management financial products, instruments, mechanisms, and innovations, and mobilizing private financing and solutions with a focus on strengthening prevention and preparedness (Chapter 4); and (d) enhancing and sustaining implementation effectiveness, including giving close attention to the timeliness and quality of interventions, and strengthening partnerships with humanitarian and other actors for greater impact in crisis situations (Chapter 5).The GCRP will add value in these four priority areas by enhancing synergies, strengthening capacities, and promoting new activities where gaps have been identified.Ongoing work on the prevention of food security risks illustrates the GCRP’s integrated, cross-sectoral, and collaborative approach to prevention and preparedness.The success of the GCRP will depend on its ability to leverage the World Bank Group’s expertise, products, and services, and pioneer new solutions to provide comprehensive crisis risk management support to clients.
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The development objectives of the Social Safety Net System Project for Mauritania are to support the establishment of key building blocks of the national social safety net system and to provide targeted cash transfers to extreme poor households.
... See More + The restructuring aims to change the closing date from June 30, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
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The rapid review confirms that Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are socially, culturally, and environmentally diverse, with some features in common, and which collectively make them unique to other regions of the world: Small island countries have uniquely fragile water resources due to their small size, lack of natural storage, competing land use, and vulnerability to natural and anthropogenic hazards, including drought, cyclones, and urban pollution (with between 0.5 percent to 6.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) being lost annually to disasters).
... See More + Rurally dominated populations are widely dispersed geographically as many small communities, while most capital cities include significant informal settlement populations and are subject to rapid urbanization (a more than 3 percent yearly increase in urban population growth in most Melanesian countries is projected between 2015 and 2020) (Mycoo and Donovan 2017).
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