The World Bank Board of Executive Directors Thursday approved an International Development Association (IDA) grant of 150 million US dollar to improve welfare and advance the poverty reduction initiatives of the Government of Uganda.
The Poverty Reduction Support Operation (PRSC) grant is the fourth sequential annual poverty reduction support operation. It will fund the service delivery and rural development reform program that was initiated under previous PRSCs. This grant will help sharpen the focus on gender, infant and maternal mortality, and lay an emphasis on attaining concrete results.
The grant supports the economic and institutional environment for the sustained implementation of the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) reforms.
It underpins Governments objectives by providing external resources necessary for the execution of the Government budget, and by providing knowledge and technical advice on the implementation of Ugandas poverty reduction reforms, with a major focus on improving service delivery in education, health, water and sanitation, as well as in rural development.
– By supporting the budget and by ensuring technical assistance to key areas of the reform, the grant promotes the work of the vital institutions in Government, strengthening their capacity and capability for planning and implementation, said Paud Murphy, the World Banks Task Team Leader for the project.
– Besides, the grant also provides the main Bank group support –financial and technical—for the education, health, and water and sanitation sectors, added Murphy. The grant has even greater impact because a number of bilateral donors link their budget support to the PRSC.
The first pillar of the Poverty Eradication Action Plan focuses on creating a framework for economic growth and structural transformation which will help achieve a comprehensive medium-term expenditure framework that will facilitate coherent budget management, and strengthen local ownership of decentralized public service delivery.
The second pillar – strengthening good governance and security – will improve the capacity and performance of public services, strengthen financial management practices, enhance the rule of law, promote transparency, support initiatives aimed at detecting and punishing corrupt practices, as well as improving civil society involvement and participation.
The third pillar is aimed at increasing the opportunities and the capacity of the poor to raise their incomes. This will improve sustainability for income-generating activities targeting the poor as well as help in creating the enabling environment for the transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
The main outcome of the fourth pillar – improved quality of life for the poor – will concentrate on enhancing access to universal primary education, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and making tangible progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.
This pillar also focuses on improving access to safe drinking water and sanitation services.
For more information on the World Banks work in Africa visit: www.worldbank.org/afr/
For more information on the World Banks work in Uganda visit:
www.worldbank.org/afr/ug
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
