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Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

Home : Topics : Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society : Documentation : Partnership Newsletter : January-February 2003

News from ADB for Nongovernment Organizations
 January-February 2003, Volume 3, Issue 1

In this Issue
  1. Registration Begins for ADB Annual Meeting
  2. Comments Invited on Stakeholder Cooperation Framework
  3. Internet Site Provides Details on ADB Inspection Requests
  4. President Chino Hails Role of ICT in Fighting Poverty
  5. ADB Strengthens Efforts in Gender Mainstreaming
  6. Grant Promotes Health of Afghan Children
  7. Indonesia Rehabilitates Coral Reefs with ADB
  8. Tajikistan's Poor Find a Voice
  9. Online Resource Highlights Social Protection
  10. Project Offers Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation Facilities to Rural Punjab
  11. Cambodian Households to Gain from Cleaner Environment
  12. WWF Report Examines Links Between Poverty and Environment
  13. NGO Visitor: Ayala Foundation Incorporated (AFI)
  14. Upcoming Events
  15. Latest Documents Available from ADB
  16. Give us your Comments
1.  Registration Begins for ADB Annual Meeting

The 36th Annual Meeting of ADB's Board of Governors will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, 21-23 May 2003. Beginning 19 May, seminars and other activities, some specifically for NGO participation, will be held at the meeting venue. The Annual Meeting and associated events present a special opportunity for civil society representatives to interact with ADB staff, Management, and Board Members. Those who would like to attend the Annual Meeting should indicate their interest by 31 March to the NGO Center at ngocoordinator@adb.org. Please note that ADB does not finance the participation of Annual Meeting attendees.

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2.  Comments Invited on Stakeholder Cooperation Framework

In November 2002, ADB hosted a weeklong regional "writeshop" with representatives of NGOs, governments, the private sector, and ADB staff. Drawing upon input from nearly 500 stakeholders over the previous six months, participants drafted a framework for cooperation between ADB, governments, and civil society. The document is under review within ADB, and its approval is expected during the first quarter of 2003. Implementation will begin immediately thereafter. The draft Framework may be viewed here and comments are welcomed. For more information, or to submit comments, contact Robert Dobias at ngocoordinator@adb.org.

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3.  Internet Site Provides Details on ADB Inspection Requests

Information on requests for an ADB inspection is now available. The information is updated whenever an important milestone in the inspection process is reached. Details include the name of the complainant and project, allegations of policy breaches and harm done, date of Management response, and action taken by ADB. For more information, contact Jill Drilon at jdrilon@adb.org.

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4.  President Chino Hails Role of ICT in Fighting Poverty

In his keynote speech at the World Summit on the Information Society, Asian Regional Conference, ADB President Tadao Chino stated: "All stakeholders, including governments, the private sector, civil society, academia, and international organizations must work together and leverage our collective resources, expertise, and knowledge to ensure that the benefits of ICT [information and communication technologies] are fully utilized in order to improve the lives of the poor." More than 100 NGO representatives attended the conference. For more information, contact Susan Ellison-McGee at smcgee@adb.org.

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5.  ADB Strengthens Efforts in Gender Mainstreaming

ADB is promoting greater gender mainstreaming in developing countries as well as its own operations through a regional technical assistance grant package worth US$1.6 million. The Government of Denmark is providing most of the funds, which will be used to recruit gender specialists for ADB resident missions in Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan. The grant will also build capacity of national and focal agencies responsible for gender development, and generate innovative small-scale gender initiatives. For more information, contact Shireen Lateef at slateef@adb.org.

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6.  Grant Promotes Health of Afghan Children

ADB has approved a US$3 million grant to improve health, particularly nutrition and reproductive health, of the rural poor in Afghanistan. The grant will come from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan. The project will explore how the Ministry of Health can effectively contract NGOs to develop community-based primary health care and thereby reduce rural poverty. For more information, contact Vincent de Witt at vdewitt@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org

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7.  Indonesia Rehabilitates Coral Reefs with ADB

Indonesia has borrowed US$33 million from the concessional Asian Development Fund to rehabilitate and manage coral reefs. Phase two of the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project, a three-phase, 15-year program, will strengthen institutions and project management, and support community-based resource management and development. Beneficiaries include small fishers, fish farmers, fish processors, and workers in the fishing industry of coastal communities in six districts in the provinces of Riau, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. For more information, contact Weidong Zhou (wzhou@adb.org) or Yoshiharu Kobayashi (ykobayashi@adb.org).

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8.  Tajikistan's Poor Find a Voice

The Rural Poverty Reduction Project aims to increase the capacity of vulnerable households to meet their basic needs by raising agricultural production, improving income-generating opportunities for women, and building capacity. The project will pilot innovative on- and off-farm activities to draw lessons for the implementation of ADB projects supporting agricultural rehabilitation and development of rural financial systems. The Aga Khan Foundation and Care International are implementing the project, which is largely funded through the Japanese Fund for Poverty Reduction. For more information, contact Neside Tas-Anvaripour at ntasanvaripour@adb.org.

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9.  Online Resource Highlights Social Protection

The new Social Protection page of ADB's Internet site provides information and links on policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labor markets, diminishing people's exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards and interruption/loss of income. The site also describes the key components of social protection: labor markets, social insurance, social assistance and welfare service programs, micro- and area-based schemes, and child protection. For more information, contact Antero Vahapassi at avahapassi@adb.org.

10.  Project Offers Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation Facilities to Rural Punjab

About 2,500 poor rural communities in Punjab Province, Pakistan, with an estimated population of 2.3 million, will receive safe drinking water and sanitation facilities under an ADB loan project. The project will include construction of about 500 community-based, simple low-cost water supply and drainage subprojects, rehabilitation of about 250 need-based inoperative old subprojects, and a hygiene education program. The Social Uplift and Poverty Eradication Program will pilot test the provision of micro credit to women for livelihood activities such as handicrafts, embroidery, livestock rearing. For more information, contact Shakeel Khan at skhan@adb.org.

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11.  Cambodian Households to Gain from Cleaner Environment

An ADB grant of US$1 million will support a community-based environmental improvement project in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The project will establish sustainable mechanisms to improve living and working conditions and environmental hygiene in low-income neighborhoods. More than 30,000 households in 10 city districts will benefit from improved infrastructure and a more hygienic environment. The project will also generate income and employment opportunities by financing revolving funds for sanitation-related activities such as recycling, composting, waste collection, and purchase of supplies and equipment. Other major components are civil works, public awareness campaigns, training, and project management. For more information, contact Januar Hakim at jhakim@adb.org.

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12.  WWF Report Examines Links Between Poverty and Environment
 The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has published Poverty Reduction and Biodiversity Conservation: The Complex Role for Intensifying Agriculture, a paper in which author John Mellor notes that agriculture uses nearly 40% of the earth's land surface, generating direct employment or livelihoods for the vast majority of rural dwellers. At the same time, agricultural practices have multiple and enduring impacts on the environment and biodiversity conservation. For details, contact Brent Nordstrom in WWF's Macroeconomics Program Office: Brent.Nordstrom@wwfus.org.

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13.  NGO Visitor: Ayala Foundation Incorporated (AFI)

This regular feature spotlights an NGO visiting the Asian Development Bank.

The Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI), together with its corporate partners, conducts programs in education and information technology, leadership development, urban environment, and Filipino arts and culture.

In 2000, AFI, with public and private institutions, launched Project Youth Tech in five high schools in Metro Manila. By December 2002, AFI had established Youth Tech facilities in 56 public high schools throughout the country. The program will eventually provide high school students across the Philippines with computers and Internet connections, and train teachers in basic Internet skills. AFI also supports the CISCO Networking Academies, which offer technical training in network establishment, maintenance and repair to students in vocational schools.

AFI's Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (CENTEX) operates two schools in Tondo, Metro Manila, and Bauan, Batangas, providing education for high achieving children from poor families. CENTEX schools supply students with textbooks, some meals and uniforms, skills training, and counseling for the students' families. AFI also conducts an annual three-day Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC), now in its fifth year, which draws 70 of the country's top university student leaders.

The foundation's other initiatives include a solid waste management program in 300 buildings and shopping malls in Makati and Cebu cities. It also promotes Filipino heritage through the Ayala Museum and the Filipinas Heritage Library.

AFI's Victoria Garchitorena and Tito Rivera met with ADB staff from the Philippines Country Office and NGO Center on 4 December 2002. For more information about AFI's activities, contact Ms. Garchitorena at garchitorena.vp@ayala.com.ph, or visit http://www.ayalafoundation.org/.

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14.  Upcoming Events

A listing in this section does not imply that funding is available to NGO participants.

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Latest Documents Available from ADB

ADB makes available to the public hundreds of documents each year through its Online Publications and a network of 162 depository libraries around the world. These documents include Country Economic Reviews, Country Economic Updates, Environmental Impact Assessments, Project Completion Reports (PCRs), Reports and Recommendations of the President (RRPs), Summary Initial Environmental Examinations, and Technical Assistance Reports (TARs).

Recent releases include: Governance Reform Program (Mongolia, PCR); Impact of Rural Roads on Poverty Reduction: A Case Study-Based Analysis (Evaluation Report); Local Government Provision of Minimum Basic Services for the Poor (Indonesia, TAR); Modernizing Government and Fiscal Reform in Kerala Program (India, RRP); Strengthening National Public Nutrition Planning (People's Republic of China, TAR); and Sustainable Employment Promotion for Poor Women (Cambodia, TAR).

Give us your Comments

Partnership welcomes feedback from readers, and may publish letters received.

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Questions about the contents of Partnership Newsletter or about ADB relations with NGOs, may be directed to Bart W. Édes at ngocoordinator@adb.org. Learn more about ADB cooperation with NGOs.

© Copyright 2002. Partnership Newsletter is published six times a year by ADB's Office of External Relations in conjunction with the ADB NGO Center. Previous issues are available here. Hypertext links provided in Partnership Newsletter do not imply ADB endorsement of the views expressed on non-ADB web sites. Such links are provided solely as an information service. Published contributions do not necessarily represent the view of ADB Management, staff, or members. ADB reserves the right to edit submissions. Partnership Newsletter may be redistributed with credit given to Asian Development Bank.

NGO Center
Asian Development Bank
P.O. Box 789, Manila 0980, Philippines
Tel: (632) 632-4147; (632) 636-2648


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