This report contains powerful stories, supported by data, of how World Bank Group projects have affected and transformed lives across East Asia and Pacific. There are also photographs that put a face on development statistics. The East Asia and Pacific region is home to more than two billion people. They live in more than 20 different countries; they speak more than 3,000 languages; they are farmers and fishermen, business men and women, students, workers, nomadic herders, all showing that a little can go a long way. They are improving their own lives with a little help from the World Bank Group, their own country and other development partners in the form of investments in the basics of daily life like water, electricity and health care; a small grant, a community-driven development program; business initiatives that cut bureaucratic red tape; scholarships that enable disadvantaged students to skill up for the future; and initiatives to protect the environment and tackle climate change. This dynamic region has experienced remarkable growth and prosperity, with extreme poverty falling faster than in any other region. However, there are still more than 340 million people across the region living on just $2 a day. This report conveys stories demonstrating how these people are changing that statistic.
The purpose of this report is to show how development issues and policy initiatives shaped the design and structure of the science, technology, and innovation (STI) capacity-building program that eventually emerged from the partnership between the Government of Rwanda and...
The World Bank has a long relationship with Uruguay's agricultural sector, expanding over a period of more than 60 years in which several projects and various analytical and advisory assistance initiatives have been implemented. The main purposes of the present...
The sector review includes seven chapters and one annex. This first chapter is an overview of agriculture, irrigation and the purpose and content of this report. The second chapter provides a review of the Bank s own strategy and priorities...
This report addresses the establishment of a centralized information and communication technology (ICT) platform for the microfinance sector in Nepal. It has been shown from international experience that ICT improves the efficiency, transparency, and outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and...
The issue of regional differences in development has moved to the center of the development debate in Sri Lanka, partly after the release of regional poverty data. For the past many years, there have been significant and increasing differences between...