Cambodia’s Needy Get New Food Security, Social Safety Net Program

Cambodia’s Needy Get New Food Security, Social Safety Net Program

Last Updated on Wednesday, 05 August 2009 04:27

Written by DAP NEWS -Wednesday, 05 August 2009 02:35

Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday signed a US$13 million agreement to support Cambodia’s poorest and most vulnerable people by strengthening food security and social safety nets.

The WB has approved the Small- holder Agriculture and Social Protection Development Policy Operation to support the efforts of the Cambodian Government to mitigate the combined impacts of the global food price and economic crises, according to the WB’s press statement, adding that the program aims to boost food security for poor households and expand safety net support.

“Even though Cambodia is a rice exporter, the poor are highly vulnerable to high food prices and it was not clear that smallholder farmers had the needed support for them to take advantage of higher prices to produce more,” said Annette Dixon, WB Cambodia Country Director. “We hope that this operation will reinforce the excellent work of other programs from Government, NGOs and donors supporting agriculture and social protection in Cambodia. It will also help the poor to improve their agricultural production and access to market, and to protect the most vulnerable group through better policies.”

In particular, the program sets out to ensure better oversight and regulation of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and seeds to improve food productivity at the small farm level. It will also accelerate the registration of farmers’ groups so that individual farmers can better access credit and marketing opportunities for their crops. At the same time, the program will improve targeting of the country’s social protection systems to reach the kingdom’s neediest people.

The US$13 million DPO is made up of an US$8 million grant from the Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP) and a US$5 million credit from IDA, the WB’s fund for low income countries. The GFRP, to which the Australian Government was a significant contributor, is managed by the WB and provides financial and technical support to countries affected by the global food crisis.

The Australian Government, through AusAID, is contributing AU$2.8 million for analytical and capacity building support and the design and evaluation of pilot activities to support the program.

World Bank Offers [$2.6 million] Rural Telecom Grant

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh

08 January 2009

]The World Bank announced Thursday a $2.6 million grant to the government to build up telecommunications access in rural areas.

The World Bank said in a statement up to 52,000 poor households, or 260,000 Cambodians, would benefit from the grant, which will provide a subsidies for telecom providers in otherwise “commercially unviable” areas.

The grant, which will go toward developing the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear and Pursat, “some of Cambodia’s poorest,” said Qimao Fan, the World Bank’s Cambodia manager.

“The project will focus both on landlines and mobile phones, but the government wants more in mobile phones than landlines, because the installation of hand phones is a lower cost than landlines,” La Narath, secretary of state at the Telecommunications Ministry, said.

Users of mobile phones and landlines in the cities and towns are higher than in rural areas, he said. “But now we it is very difficult to estimate between rural and city residents mobile phone users,” he said.

Chin Bunsean, another secretary of state for the ministry, said in a statement “bridging the ‘digital divide’” was a priority of the government.

“It’s time that the people in rural areas are able to benefit from the same services, at the same quality and prices, that the people in the cities have been enjoying for so many years,” he said.

World Bank Granted US$30 Million to Cambodia to Support Big Health Projects

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4645, 19.7.2008

Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Economy and Finance released information that the World Bank has provided a credit of approximately US$30 million to the Royal Government of Cambodia to support the Second Health Sector Support Program [HSSP2], which is a project to promote the health care of Cambodian people, especially it focuses on the health of women, of children, and of the poor.

Senior Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Keat Chhon, representing Cambodia, signed an agreement to accept the credit with Mr. Ian Porter, Country Director of the World Bank for Cambodia, on Thursday evening [17 June 2008] at the Ministry of Finance.

According to an announcement of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the project to support the HSSP2 of the Royal Government of Cambodia will be implemented for a period of five years, and up to US$130 million will be spent in total. Now, the World Bank agreed to provide US$30 million, the Australian Agency for International Development [AusAID] granted US$30 million as grant aid, the Department for International Development [DFID] of Britain granted US$50, and the Royal Government of Cambodia contributes US$20 million.

Senior Minister Keat Chhon said during the signing ceremony that this project aims to support the health strategies of the Royal Government, to promote accesses to, and to receive and to use efficient and qualified health services. He added that the project will be organized following a new mechanism by transferring and by supplying primary health services from non-government organizations to health staff at lower national levels.

He continued that this project has been created to support the implementation of the 2008 to 2015 health strategic plan of the Royal Government, specifically; this project will contribute to help the Cambodian government to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in the health sector.

The three Millennium Development Goals in the health sector are (among eight goals):

4.Reduce child mortality
5.Improve maternal health
6.Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

Prof. Eng Huot, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, said that over the past decade, the health of Cambodian citizens is improving significantly. The life expectation of men increased from 52 to 58 years, and for women from 56 to 64 years; infant and child mortality declined, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been arrested.

He added that Cambodia still faces several big problems – the maternity death rate is high, the improvement of the malnutrition situation is slow, health services are expensive, health care is not qualified yet, and accidents and noninfectious diseases increase. He went on to say that now, because of the support through the credit granted by the World Bank and by many other development partners, we expect that these major problems will be reduced.

Also, Mr. Ian Porter said that the World Bank has been involved to promote the health sector in Cambodia since 1996 through two projects: one project to get rid of infectious diseases, and another project to support the health sector. He continued that the Bank is very pleased to see the HSSP2 off the ground, in line with the Country Assistance Strategy for Cambodia.

World Bank supports Cambodia’s education sector

 

MENAFN – 09/06/2008

 

(MENAFN) The World Bank (WB) has announced a grant of $57.4 million for Cambodia to help the country’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports carry out an education project during 2008-2010, Vietnam News reported.

 

The WB-financed (Sector Support Scale Up Action Program) comprises of three components to assist Cambodia expand early childhood education, improve primary education access and quality, and promote institutional development and capacity building.

It is expected that over 3 years, about 650 existing incomplete schools will be completed and about 25 new buildings for pre-schools, 25 new buildings for primary schools and 60 new district office of education (DOE) facilities will be built.

 

Source: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093199798#top

 

World Bank approves 6 mln USD grant for Cambodia to fight bird flu

09:23, March 27, 2008

The World Bank Group on Wednesday approved a six million U.S. dollars grant to support Cambodia’s efforts to implement a national plan to minimize the threats from avian and human influenza, and to prepare its health systems to respond to any possible outbreak in the future.

The grant, provided by the International Development Association (IDA), will be used to finance the Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness Emergency Project (AHICPEP), a press release said.

Designed in support of Cambodia’s Comprehensive Avian and Human Influenza (AHI) National Plan, this project aims to help the government contain the spread of the H5N1 virus, reduce livelihood losses among commercial and backyard poultry growers, limit damage to the poultry industry, diminish the viral load in the environment and prevent or limit human morbidity as well as mortality, it added.

In addition to the IDA grant, the Government of Japan has provided a three million U.S. dollars grant from its Policy and Human Resources Development (PHRD) Fund. A grant of two million U.S. dollars was approved by the Avian and Human Influenza (AHI) Facility, a multidonor grant-making mechanism supported by the European Commission and eight other donors, it said.

Both grants will co-finance AHICPEP, the press release said, adding that the PHRD Fund and AHI Facility are both administered by the World Bank.

The combined 11 million U.S. dollars project will be implemented by units within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, and the National Committee for Disaster Management of Cambodia.
Source:Xinhua

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6381755.html#

WB donates 70 mln USD for three development projects in Cambodia

September 06, 2007 The World Bank (WB) has signed agreements with the Cambodian government to grant the kingdom 70 million U.S. dollars of aid to support three development projects, local media said on Thursday.

Among the money, 18.5 million U.S. dollars will go for an energy project along the Mekong River, 15 million U.S. dollars for a poverty reduction project, and the rest for a rural investment and local governance project, Cambodian-language newspaper the Koh Santhepheab quoted Nisha Agrawal, WB’s country director, as saying.

The WB is among the country’s major donor institutions. Around half of the Cambodian government’s annual budget, some 600 million dollars, used to be met by donor countries and institutions.

 Source:Xinhua

Ki-Media:http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2007/09/wb-donates-70-mln-usd-for-three.html 

World Bank Provides $36.25 Million for Local Level Reforms

Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #6122, 20.8.2007

“Phnom Penh: The World Bank announced on 16 August that its Board of Executive Directors had reaffirmed its support for the commune and subdistrict decentralization and local governance reforms of Cambodia, and approved to provide an additional grant of US$36.25 million for the Rural Investment and Local Governance Project [RILGP], in addition to the previous project of US$22 million for 2003-2007. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved this on 19 May 2007.

“According to the World Bank press release of early August 2007, which Koh Santepheap received, this additional financing aims to extend the support from the current 15 to 23 provinces and towns, providing additional financing for three years from 2007 to 2009, to increase the intergovernmental fiscal transfer to build up a Commune and Subdistrict Fund, and in this way facilitate a faster increase in the amount available for intergovernmental fiscal transfers [from top to down] and the related allocations to the communes. The World Bank continued that the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for Cambodia for 2005-2008, which was approved by the Board of Executive Directors in May 2005, recognizes that governance issues are the main obstacle to poverty alleviation and aid effectiveness, and therefore supports decentralization as a means to develop local governance and accountability.

“The World Bank continued that through this additional financing for the RILGP, the World Bank will continue to support decentralization and local governance with participatory systems, providing priority public contributions and improved infrastructure at the commune and subdistrict levels.

“Mr. Ian Porter, World Bank Country Director for Cambodia, stated, ‘While the RILGP and the RILGP related additional financing are provided for specific investments at the commune level, the arrangement for institutional procedures, and the inflow of funds, are integrated as much as possible into the government’s structures and systems. In this way, this project helps to build capacity directly within government institutions, it strengthens administrative systems, and it creates a strong basis for sustainability and an increase in development effectiveness.’

“Mr. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said, ‘The Royal Government of Cambodia welcomes and congratulates the World Bank for supporting rural development and poverty alleviation by the Royal Government through the support of investment in priority public needs and infrastructure at the commune level; this helps to strengthen local governance at the commune level, in the Framework for Decentralization and Deconcentration Reform of the government.’

“The Deputy Prime Minister added that especially the support of the commune and subdistrict levels, through financing for the implementation of rural projects at this stage of local governance is important, and through this continued support to the Royal Government’s own intergovernmental fiscal transfer system of resources from the state budget to the commune and subdistrict, the ability to increase funds for commune and subdistrict developments for three years ahead will now be possible.

“Ms. Nisha Agrawal, Country Manager of the Cambodia program of the World Bank, said, ‘This additional RILGP is also helping towards the harmonization and coordination of support from other development partners. The government will use part of this additional aid to support the further development of the National Decentralization and Deconcentration Program at the national level, which will show up in the implementation details for the National Strategic Framework for Decentralization and Deconcentration Reform, and it will help to provide a better basis to coordinate the support of different donors in future.’

“The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved the additional financing for the RILGP for Cambodia, after a recent approval by the Board of Executive Directors of another US$15 million grant aid for the Poverty Reduction Growth Operation.”

World Bank Grants $70 Million in Aid to Cambodia

Tuesday August 14, 12:29 pm ET

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The World Bank said Tuesday it will give $70 million to Cambodia to help reduce its widespread poverty in a package that includes a plan to import cheap electricity from the country’s neighbors.

Some $18.5 million will be used to build cross-border transmission lines to Laos and Vietnam to import electricity to Cambodia, the bank said in a statement Tuesday. The project is expected to be completed by August 2011.

The new power lines will connect Kampong Cham province in the east with Vietnam, and Stung Treng province in the northeast with Laos, the bank said in June. The two provinces now have some of highest electricity rates in the world.

Customers in the provinces pay up to 30 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity. The tariffs are expected to drop to between 10 cents to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour once the transmission lines are operational, the bank said.

The remaining money in the aid package will be used for projects supporting development of the private sector, public financial management, good governance, natural resource management and decentralization of local government, the statement said.

The funds will help “build stronger institutions of governance that will lead to higher growth and faster poverty reduction,” Ian Porter, the bank’s country director for Cambodia, said in the statement.

Cambodia has achieved double-digit economic growth during the last three years but still remains one of the world’s poorest nations.

Donors in June pledged $689 million in aid for Cambodia after rapping the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen for failure to combat corruption. The World Bank statement did not say whether the new aid is part of the earlier pledge.

Fraud and corruption in the procurement process led the World Bank in June 2006 to freeze $7.6 million in funding for several projects in Cambodia. Hun Sen angrily said there was no proof of wrongdoing.

Early this year, the bank lifted the suspensions after it agreed with the government on new frameworks for improving implementation of the projects.

Cambodia: World Bank Approves $36.25 Million Grant for Commune/Sangkat Development and Improved Local Governance

Source: http://www.worldbank.org/kh   Phnom Penh, July 26 — Today, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors reaffirmed its support for Cambodia’s decentralization to the communes/sangkats and related local governance reforms, by approving a $36.25 million grant in additional financing for the Rural Investment and Local Governance Project (RILGP), as a supplement to the original RILGP which provided $22 million during 2003 – 2007.  The additional financing aims to expand the project support from the current 15 to 23 provinces, provide continuing financing for an additional three years from 2007 – 2009 to the intergovernmental fiscal transfer, the Commune/Sangkat Fund, and facilitate an accelerated increase in the amount of the overall intergovernmental fiscal transfer and related commune allocations.  The World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for Cambodia 2005 – 2008, endorsed by the Board in May 2005, recognizes governance issues as the primary obstacle to growth, poverty reduction, and aid effectiveness, and supports decentralization as a means to improve local governance and accountability. Through the RILGP – Additional Financing, the Bank will continue to support decentralized and participatory local governance systems and provision of priority public goods and infrastructure at the commune/sangkat level.  Mr. Ian Porter, World Bank Country Director, said, “While RILGP and RILGP-Additional Financing fund specific investments at the commune level, the institutional arrangements, procedures and funds flow are integrated as much as possible into the government’s own structures and systems. This has helped to build capacity directly within government institutions, strengthen government systems, and thus create a strong basis for sustainability and scaling-up of development impacts. ” H.E. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Mister of Interior said, “The Royal Government of Cambodia very much welcomes and appreciates the support of the World Bank to rural development and poverty reduction efforts through the provision of priority infrastructure and public goods at the commune level, and strengthening of the decentralized participatory local governance system, under the Royal Government’s Strategic Framework for Decentralization and Deconcentration Reforms. In particular, the Bank’s support of Commune/Sangkat Fund through RILGP Additional Financing is very important, since it provides ongoing support to the Royal Government’s own intergovernmental fiscal transfer system, and will allow an increase in allocations of development funding to the communes over the coming 3 years.”  Ms. Nisha Agrawal, Country Manager for Cambodia said that the RILGP-Additional Financing is also aiding in harmonization and alignment of development partner support. “The Royal Government will use part of the additional grant to support development of a National Decentralization and Deconcentration Program, which will elaborate the implementation details for the National Strategic Framework for Decentlization and Deconcentration Reforms and will help to provide a better foundation for coordinated donor support in future,” she said.  The Bank Board’s approval of the additional financing for RILG is the first for Cambodia under the Bank’s policy, adopted on May 19, 2005, which enables the Bank to provide additional financing in the context of ongoing, well-performing projects, such as RILGP, to scale up the project’s impact and development effectiveness.  This approval follows the recent Board approval of a $15 million grant for the Poverty Reduction Growth Operation (PRGO).  For more information on the World Bank and its work in Cambodia, please visit:http://www.worldbank.org/kh

Cambodia to get cheap electricity

By IANS

Thursday June 7, 02:16 PM

Phnom Penh, June 7

(Xinhua) Cambodia is to get a World Bank grant to construct a trans border transmission line to Vietnam and Laos to reduce high electricity fees in remote provinces.

According to a World Bank statement, $18.5 million would be provided to Cambodia.This will lead to the country’s poorest provinces benefiting from reduced power prices and consistency in supply. Power tariff has been running high for years in Cambodia due to lack of infrastructure to generate enough electricity. Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/070607/43/6gr2h.html