Today,
Cambodia is among the world’s fastest growing economies. Its gross national
income per capita increased by more than threefold in two decades, from $300 in
1994 to $1,070 in 2015.
Strong economic growth has helped lift millions
of people out of poverty.
The
Cambodian people have benefited as the economy diversified from subsistence
farming into manufacturing, tourism and agricultural exports. Poverty fell to
10 percent in 2013, from 50 percent in 2004. Cambodians enjoy better school
enrollment, literacy, life expectancy, immunization and access to water and
sanitation.
Still,
many Cambodians could be pushed back into poverty by new global, regional or
domestic economic shocks. A recent World Bank study found that a small shock of
30 cents a day would double the nation’s poverty rate.
Cambodia
has the opportunity to maintain robust growth and continue lifting people out
of poverty and bringing prosperity to all its people. How can Cambodia achieve
this goal?
The key
is to continue promoting inclusive growth through sound policies and critical
programs and investments, in both the public and private sectors.
The World
Bank Group is supporting such programs and investments in a strategy of full
engagement with Cambodia set out in our new Country Engagement Note.
Cambodians
helped us develop the strategy during countrywide consultations in mid-2015.
They included officials from national and local governments, Parliament, civil
society, the private sector, development partners and UN agencies.
Their diverse voices form the bedrock of our
engagement and strategy.
Recently,
Cambodia and the World Bank signed agreements for four projects to improve
roads, manage fisheries, improve livelihoods from agriculture in rural
communities and increase access to health care.
The
projects are supported with $130 million from the International Development
Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. In addition, the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank Group’s private sector development
institution, is expanding its engagement in the finance, infrastructure and
trade and competitiveness sectors, with the aim of fostering new employment
opportunities.
How will the new programs benefit the people of
Cambodia?
For
example, the Health Equity Funds supported by a new $30 million IDA-funded
health project and $50 million trust fund from partners such as Australia,
Germany and South Korea will help cover the costs of health services for three
million poor people, reducing their out-of-pocket costs and providing reliable
financing for health facilities.
Moreover, service delivery grants will improve
the quality and coverage of health services.
A $15
million project aims to improve the management of fisheries and water resources
and help reduce rural poverty in the Mekong River Basin in northeast Cambodia.
And a $60
million project seeks to improve 218 kilometers of roads to make them resilient
to seasonal flooding, shortening travel times and provide better connectivity
along national road corridors in Kampot, Preah Sihanouk, Tbong Khmom and Kratie
provinces.
In
designing the WBG program to support Cambodia, we listened to the ideas we
heard from a range of stakeholder groups.
They told
us having better roads, supporting poor villagers who depend on agricultural
livelihoods and fishing and access to better health care are high priorities.
Through
our full engagement, jointly with all development partners, we strive to
contribute to improving the lives of all Cambodians, particularly the
poor.
Victoria
Kwakwa
Victoria Kwakwa is the World Bank vice
president for East Asia Pacific.
No comments:
Post a Comment