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Yemen - World Bank supports development projects

Global Arab Network - - John Short

Monday, 03 August 2009 15:53

Yemen and World Bank discussed issues related to port cities and urban development in addition to flood damage project in governorates of Hadramout and Mahrah.

Undersecretary of Local Administration Ministry for Development Sector Mohammed Mansur reviewed with a mission of the World Bank the implementation progress of port cities projects in each of Aden, Hodeidah and Mukalla and mechanism of the preparation for the project's second phase.

Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East North Africa (MNA) region, is facing daunting challenges in an uncertain global and regional environment. Significant progress has been made over the last few years, but living conditions for most of the 22 million Yemenis remain difficult.

The government is implementing a program of economic and governance reforms, but time is of the essence as oil resources are rapidly depleting while the population continues to grow at a fast pace.

The Yemen Social Fund for Development (SFD) financed sub-projects designed to extend basic education, health and environment services to Yemen’s most vulnerable population; to provide temporary employment; and to lay down the basis for improved social and economic development.

- Branch offices were established to reach out to remote communities, provide technical assistance and receive project requests.

- Recognized as a successful tool for poverty reduction and capacity building, the SFD was expanded first in 2000 and funded again on a massive scale in 2005.
Since the Fund has helped remote communities improve basic social and economic services, directly benefiting about 10 million people.

- Over 2000-06, the Fund has supported a total of 2,403 community-based subprojects reaching almost 4.5 million people representing 65 percent of the population living in extreme poverty.

- SFD designed a special program for water harvesting systems in order to increase water supply during the dry season. Water quality was improved through fencing of cisterns and the introduction of sand filters and hand pumps.

- Up till the end of 2005, SFD water supply subprojects benefited around 1.9 million people. Sixty-five large environmental sanitation subprojects provided services to a further 821,000 individuals.

- Construction of 6,534 new classrooms, and rehabilitation/expansion of 1,439 existing classrooms in 2001-04 (during the Fund’s second phase) contributed to an overall increase in enrollment rates in basic education from 62.9 percent to 67.6 percent - for girls, enrollment grew from 45.9 percent to 52.7 percent in the same period.

- Other subprojects supported the training of health care workers, the creation and maintenance of improved rural roads, and the strengthening of institutions and associations working with marginalized and disabled groups.

- The SFD supported decentralization, helping to establish the roles of the governorate and district councils.

- In addition to community projects, the SFD has improved education and infrastructure programs implemented by line ministries through technical assistance. For example, technical support from the SFD helped the Ministry of Education establish Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) allowing parents to become involved for the first time in the management and maintenance of rural schools. The SFD drafted the first manual for rural roads in Yemen - now the Ministry of Civil Works’s main reference.

Channeling of resources to the poor is a complex process that has been supported to a large extent by the establishment of the Social Fund for Development and its growing capacity at the central and local levels. However, to ensure the sustainability of the process, the institutional capacity of other line ministries needs to be addressed. In addition, adequate resources are needed to support the linkages with partner organizations and structures that have been set up at the community level in order not to lose the momentum IDA has triggered. As the Yemeni population continues to grow, the risk to sustainability of infrastructure and poverty reduction efforts also increases.

Yemen joined the World Bank in 1969. Since then, the focus of World Bank assistance has been to foster sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty in the country.

Global Arab Network

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Last Updated on Monday, 03 August 2009 16:11

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