Economics & Development

This Country Partnership Framework (CPF) sets out how the World Bank Group (WBG) will support Kazakhstan’s ambitious development plans, by focusing on policy and institutional reforms, and innovative investments and guarantees, that catalyze private capital and contribute to regional and global public goods. Kazakhstan, an upper-middle-income, landlocked, asset-rich economy, faces the limits of its natural-resource-dependent and state-dominated development model. Gains from first generation reforms are subsiding as the transition to market has slowed down. This new phase of Kazakhstan’s development is starting from a position of strength. Yet structural and institutional constraints continue to weigh on the country’s growth potential and environmental resilience. The CPF aims to support reforms and mobilize investments to address these challenges, focusing on connectivity infrastructure, natural resources management and the business environment. Policy and institutional reforms are needed to raise investment efficiency, to attract private capital and to increase private sector productivity and job creation - an agenda that calls for a whole-of-WBG engagement. The CPF is aligned with the Government of Kazakhstan national plans and priorities as well as with WBG corporate priorities: water, natural resource management, transport, energy, and jobs. The CPF aims for growth of firms and job creation as its North Star as it operationalizes the three pillar WBG jobs strategy: improving the physical and natural infrastructure for jobs (outcomes 1 and 2); improving the business environment (outcome 3); mobilizing private capital (cross-cutting outcome). It will also support regional public goods by seizing the opportunities offered by recent, historical improvements in regional cooperation, including in energy, water, transport and the environment.

Vanuatu: Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program - First Phase, for Vanuatu, has development objectives to improve access to economic opportunities for fishers and fish workers, increase climate-resilient domestic supply of fish products, and strengthen national capacity for fisheries management. Component 1, Tuna Industry Domestication, will develop enabling public infrastructure in Luganville, Espiritu Santo, including a climate and disaster-resilient multipurpose piled jetty with berths for multiple fishing vessels, single-point moorings for carrier vessels, dock power including reefer container plug-ins, refueling and potable water reticulation, liquid waste treatment, solar lighting, a sheet pile quay with backfill and paving, a gantry and boatyard pen for vessel maintenance, and an administrative one-stop-shop building to house inspections, customs, immigration, seafood certification, and other port functions, all designed for energy efficiency with photovoltaic systems and in compliance with international maritime security standards; it will also establish a collaborative industrial incubator for seafood handling and processing equipped for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points-compliant product development, cold storage, small-scale canning, hygiene training, and business support services. Sub-components include Sub-component 1.1, Investing in Enabling Public Infrastructure for Tuna Industry Domestication, which delivers the jetty and associated onshore facilities and the incubator as a public platform to catalyze future private investment and value addition, and Sub-component 1.2, Developing a Workforce for a National Fisheries and Seafood Industry, which upgrades and accredits curricula at the Vanuatu Maritime and Fisheries Institute (VMFI) through twinning, equipment, and training in boat building, safety at sea, captain certification, engine and refrigeration maintenance, food safety and hygiene, Pacific Islands Regional Fisheries Observer standards, and Electronic Monitoring and Electronic Reporting (EM and ER), while operationalizing the incubator as a hands-on training and enterprise facility. Component 2, Small- and Medium-Sized Fisheries Value Chain Development, will increase domestic fish supply and livelihoods through Sub-component 2.1, Investing in Domestic Fisheries Value Chains, by strengthening fishers’ associations, providing entrepreneurship extension, establishing a hub-and-spoke cold chain anchored at the upgraded Luganville fish market with solar-powered cold storage, packaging and aggregation, delivering training and equipment at landing points, and designing, building, and trialing two medium-scale vessel prototypes with demonstration tours and gear innovation workshops to enable safe offshore fishing around anchored fish aggregating devices, and through Sub-component 2.2, Informing Domestic Fisheries Value Chain Management and Development, by establishing a pragmatic small-scale fisheries statistical system that leverages sampling and household data, deploying digital tools for efficient electronic data collection and analysis, and building capacity to inform enforcement and climate-adaptive management. Component 3, Fisheries Governance and Institutions Strengthening, will improve the enabling environment through Sub-component 3.1, Adequate Working Environment, by designing and constructing a low-emissions, cyclone and seismic-resistant headquarters for the Vanuatu Fisheries Department (VFD) with dedicated facilities and equipment; Sub-component 3.2, Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening, by strengthening monitoring, control, and surveillance through government capacity to manage EM and ER systems, supporting observer training and equipment, advancing vessel inspections and Port State Measures Agreement implementation, and enhancing stakeholder outreach and data analytics; and Sub-component 3.3, Policy Framework, by developing a sector vision, providing interministerial training, reviewing responsibilities within Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO), reviewing World Trade Organization obligations, preparing an aquaculture development plan, and conducting targeted policy reviews. Component 4, Project Management, will finance the Project Support Team, equipment and software, fiduciary and reporting functions, implementation of environmental and social instruments, and core monitoring and evaluation, including mid-term and completion reporting.

Social Protection Project for Inclusion, Resilience, Innovation, and Transformation (SPIRIT) for Ukraine has the development objectives of enhancing the integration, access, and inclusiveness of the social protection system. Component 1: Improving Social Support for the Poor and Vulnerable Groups will reimburse eligible expenditures for 18 social assistance programs and drive results-oriented reforms through performance-based conditions, including nationwide rollout of a consolidated Basic Social Assistance program that replaces fragmented benefits with a single, means- and asset-tested minimum income package based on monthly family income; introduction of an integrated case management model linking beneficiaries to decentralized social and employment services, with a crisis-response package for rapid temporary support to families affected by shocks; establishment of a transparent procedure to prioritize centrally funded social services and transformation of the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities (FSPPD) into a national purchasing agency operating a money-follows-the-client model to contract public, nongovernmental, and private providers; enhancement of support for families with children through a lifecycle-based package including childcare for infants under one year, the e-Nursery program for working or studying parents, and a Schoolchild’s Package for first graders; administrative consolidation of awarding and paying 39 benefits under the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) to improve nationwide access and efficiency; a shift to a person-centered disability determination aligned with the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), and establishment of procedures for reasonable accommodation and employment-related social services for persons with disabilities. Component 2: Enhancing the Capacity of the Social Protection System and Developing Social Services will strengthen institutional and operational capacity at the Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity (MoSPFU), PFU, FSPPD, and selected local authorities by modernizing PFU information systems and hardware, training frontline staff to deliver integrated case management, and supporting project coordination, monitoring, and communications; Sub-component 2.1 will deliver these capacity-building and systems improvements, while Sub-component 2.2 will finance up to 40 community-based microprojects to establish or upgrade local providers and social infrastructure for long-term care, supported living, and home-based services, selected through an inclusive methodology and implemented with centralized procurement and strengthened grievance redress and beneficiary feedback mechanisms.

A velocidade é um dos principais fatores de risco para a segurança viária e é universalmente reconhecida como a principal causa de mortes e ferimentos graves no trânsito. Mas há uma boa notícia: o problema da velocidade pode ser resolvido. Existem intervenções comprovadamente eficazes, e já se sabe claramente onde e como elas devem ser aplicadas. O recém-publicado “Guia para Velocidades Seguras: Gerenciando a Velocidade do Tráfego para Salvar Vidas e Melhorar a Qualidade de Vida” apresenta intervenções que funcionam e oferece orientações sobre como selecionar e implementar limites de velocidade seguros para todos os usuários das vias. O guia também explica como superar barreiras à mudança das velocidades de tráfego, muitas vezes baseadas na falta de conhecimento ou em equívocos. Uma das principais características do guia é sua abrangência. O documento cobre todos os tipos de vias, desde ruas urbanas até rodovias interurbanas e autoestradas (existentes ou novas); todos os tipos de usuários das vias, desde usuários vulneráveis, como pedestres e ciclistas, até o tráfego motorizado pesado; todos os tipos de mudanças nos limites de velocidade — desde limites nacionais gerais até alterações localizadas com base em fatores de risco; todos os tipos de restrições desafiadoras, desde falta de recursos até falta de dados; e todos os tipos de países, de baixa a alta renda.