During this stay, van Trotsenburg met with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun and senior government officials, including Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire and Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota, to discuss ways to further strengthen Nepal-World Bank partnerships. [break]He also met with heads of bilateral and multilateral development agencies based in Kathmandu.
van Trotsenburg, who is responsible for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank´s fund for the poorest 82 countries, also took stock of community-led projects in Dhading district, including a rural water supply and sanitation project, a poverty alleviation fund project and a community-managed school, which have received IDA funding of nearly US$ 380 million.
“Nepal has made impressive gains,” van Trotsenburg was quoted as saying in a WB statement issued on Tuesday “The evidence is compelling that the strength behind development in Nepal is concentrated at the community level, which have improved access to clean water, delivery of basic health care services and generated livelihood opportunities, especially for women.”
In meetings with the authorities, van Trotsenburg discussed the broader strategic issues related to the global IDA partnership involving donors and beneficiary countries.
He welcomed the emphasis Nepal has placed on gender and equality. "Nepal´s experiences in reducing poverty and improving social indicators, particularly the sharp decrease in the maternal mortality rate, should be shared more broadly with other lower-income IDA countries,” he said.
IDA´s support for country-driven development programs is reflected in Nepal´s interim strategy note for fiscal year 2012-13, which focuses on enhancing connectivity and productivity for growth; reducing vulnerabilities and improving resilience; and promoting access to better quality services.
Governance, accountability, gender equality and social inclusion are themes that run throughout the strategy. Under the strategy, Nepal can potentially benefit from an allocation of $200 million a year in IDA resources.
The current IDA portfolio in Nepal comprises 16 projects with a value of about $1.27 billion.
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