Forum Examines Ways to Improve Access to Water
ADB's Second Water Week, held in Manila, 26-30 January 2004, brought together at ADB headquarters dozens of government officials, researchers, NGO representatives, and ADB staff to share good practices and lessons learned in the provision of water and management of water services. The theme of this year's edition of the annual event was, "Water for the Poor: Setting the Rules and Finding the Money." Discussion topics included community participation, innovative financing, small-scale private independent providers, and water rights. Presentations made at Water Week are available on ADB's web site. For more information, contact Ellen Pascua at epascua@adb.org.
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NARO Hosts Briefing on ADB Gender Initiatives
Shireen Lateef, ADB Principal Social Development Specialist, led a roundtable on ADB's gender initiatives at ADB's North American Representative Office (NARO) in Washington, DC, on 24 November 2003. She highlighted challenges in gender mainstreaming, and the need to properly implement project-specific gender strategies and country gender assessments. She also recommended setting targets to ensure that benefits are actually realized by women. The 15 participants, including representatives of NGOs, consultancies, and development agencies, noted the need to monitor and evaluate gender interventions, continue implementation of the Beijing platform for action and the Millennium Development Goals, and more fully engage civil society in support of gender equity and the empowerment of women. For more details, contact Shireen Lateef at slateef@adb.org.
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Meeting Supports Tripartite Effort Against Poverty in the GMS
Rajat Nag, Director-General, ADB Mekong Department, participated in the ADB-Government-NGO Regional Tripartite Workshop, held in Bangkok, 27-28 January 2004. In his opening remarks, Nag stated that, "…the question is not only what governments and ADB can do, but also what NGOs and other stakeholders can do to move towards the common goal of pro-poor, equitable and sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in the region." Twenty-five representatives of governments and NGOs from around the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) participated in the workshop, which was organized by ADB's NGO Center (NGOC) and World Vision Australia. The workshop was part of technical assistance funded by the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund to support NGO involvement in poverty reduction in the GMS. For more information, contact Hemanta Mishra at hmishra@adb.org.
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Development Partners Discuss Effective Grant Making
ADB, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Program/Global Environment Fund Small Grants Program jointly sponsored a workshop, 5-6 February 2004, to share approaches and good practices in small grants programs. Representatives of civil society organizations joined the sponsors in Bangkok to discuss results measurement, performance monitoring, the role of small grants in supporting development, and partnerships for development among businesses, civil society organizations, development agencies, and governments. For more information, contact Robert Dobias at ngocoordinator@adb.org.
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NGOs Welcomed to 2004 Annual Meeting in Korea
ADB is inviting NGO representatives to attend the 37th Annual Meeting of ADB's Board of Governors on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, 15-17 May 2004. The Annual Meeting presents a venue for NGOs to interact with ADB's Management and staff, as well as their countries' representatives on the Board of Directors. While not well-suited for consultations about specific projects, the yearly event is ideal for discussing general development issues and exploring areas of possible ADB-NGO cooperation. NGOs interested in participating in the meeting must be accredited in advance. To request accreditation, an NGO should send a letter expressing interest in attending the meeting, along with complete contact details, to the ADB NGOC as soon as possible but not later than 31 March 2004. This information may be sent by fax [(632) 636-2444] or e-mail ngocoordinator@adb.org.
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ADB Will Seek Views on Draft Disclosure and Information Policy
ADB has received more than 70 sets of comments on the review of its Disclosure Policy and Information Policy and Strategy. Comments received have been posted on ADB's web site to promote transparency and public discussion. ADB will soon publish a public comment draft of a new, unified policy addressing a range of communication issues. The draft will serve as the basis for discussion at consultation workshops to be held with representatives of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in at least 10 countries over the coming months. Details about the review will be posted on ADB's web site as they become available. For more information, contact disclosure@adb.org.
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Donors Deliberate ADF Replenishment
Donor discussions continue on replenishment of the Asian Development Fund (ADF), which provides highly concessional loans to countries with low per capita gross national product and limited ability to repay debt. Replenishment will provide resources for a new phase in the Fund's operations, "ADF IX". Public comments on ADF's development effectiveness are welcomed through ADB's web site and at country-level consultations to be held over the coming weeks in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kyrgyz Republic, and Pakistan. Civil society representatives from the four countries will meet with donors following their next meeting, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal in March 2004. For more information, contact Grant Curtis at gcurtis@adb.org.
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Twenty-One NGO Initiatives Get Boost from ADB
ADB's medium-term action plan for enhanced cooperation with NGOs recommended a review of modalities for funding NGOs, and establishment of a small grants window to support development initiatives of NGOs. The ADB NGOC has begun implementing this recommendation through a US$1,000,000 regional technical assistance project funded by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. The technical assistance supports innovative NGO development and capacity-building activities in selected developing member countries, and is serving as a pilot for possible creation of a larger NGO funding mechanism. To date, 21 NGO projects totaling US$230,000 have been approved in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea. For more information, contact Grant Curtis at gcurtis@adb.org.
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Technical Assistance Supports Civil Society Participation in Indonesian Projects
ADB is providing technical assistance (TA) to develop a mechanism to enhance the role of civil society representatives in ADB-assisted projects in Indonesia. The TA, co-financed by ADB and the Government of the United Kingdom, supports creation of three pilot, provincial Regional Working Groups to act as consultative bodies on general development issues, like poverty reduction, as well as project-specific matters. The TA will also strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to contribute to project design, management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, and to work closely with regional governments. For more information, contact S. Luddin at sluddin@adb.org.
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Pattaya Workshop Will Explore NGO-Private Sector Partnerships
Thirty representatives from NGOs, the private sector, governments, and bilateral and multilateral development agencies will meet in Pattaya, Thailand, 28-31 March 2004, to identify partnership opportunities between NGOs and the private sector in Asia. The workshop, sponsored by ADB, in cooperation with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and the Population and Community Development Association, will also discuss case studies provided by participants, explore how donor organizations can facilitate partnerships, and consider options for future dialog and cooperation between NGOs and businesses. For more information, contact Hemanta Mishra at hmishra@adb.org. On a related note, the March-April 2003 edition of ADB Review featured NGO-private sector partnerships.
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Information and Small Loans Give Poor Farmers a Chance in Lao PDR
The Community-Managed Livelihood Improvement Project is providing poor farmers small loans, information, and training to increase their incomes in four provinces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The project is helping farmers to rear livestock, develop veterinary networks, expand fishponds, improve irrigation systems, weave silk and cotton, and grow chili, garlic, fruit, mushrooms, and peanuts. To ensure that local needs are met, each village, in cooperation with NGOs that are implementing the project, determine the income-generating opportunities pursued, the types of training used, and timetables. Financed by a US$1 million grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, the project targets more than 17,000 people in 36 poor villages. For more information, contact Michiko Katagami Hemanta Mishra at hmkatagamiishra@adb.org.
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ADB Funds Two Pilot Clinics to Treat AIDS Patients in PNG
ADB is providing US$450,000 to set up two pilot AIDS clinics in Papua New Guinea. The model of care to be developed is based on private-public networks and partnerships to expand care and treatment facilities to increase the access of HIV-infected people to comprehensive care, treatment, and support. A major focus of the project will be to involve those living with HIV/AIDS in the project's implementation. One of the clinics will be established at the Port Moresby General Hospital, which will provide counseling and support, including access to, and monitoring of, anti-retroviral treatment for at least 100 patients by the end of 2004. The hospital will work with NGOs and churches to identify cases and encourage compliance with treatment through social support to the patients and their families. For more information, contact mdugue@adb.org.
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ADBI Launches Awards for Journalists in Developing Countries
The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) is sponsoring the newly launched "Developing Asia Journalism Awards" to acknowledge Asian and Pacific print journalists covering development trends and their impacts on the countries and people of the region. Awards will recognize achievements in each of six thematic areas, and special prizes will be given to the Development Journalist of the Year, the Development Woman Journalist of the Year (if a woman does not win the former prize), Young Development Journalist of the Year, and Islands Journalist Award. Background materials, rules, and the application form are available on line. Deadline for applications is 27 February 2004. For more information, contact journalismawards@adbi.org.
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NGO Visitors: DISOP Philippines Foundation
This regular feature spotlights one of the many civil society organizations that meet with ADB staff each month at the Bank's Manila headquarters.
DISOP is a Belgian-based international NGO that implements projects in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America to create employment, support small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), develop the rural economy, and train and educate the poor.
The organization has been active in the Philippines for two decades. Since the 1980s it has carried out projects in the North of Luzon Island (Pinukpuk, Natonin, and Kianga), Quezon City, and North Cotabato. The DISOP Philippines Foundation was created in 1998, and serves several communities around the archipelago nation. The Foundation is providing grants, and promoting sustainable, community-based development projects in depressed communities.
The Foundation puts emphasis on developing employment skills to enable individuals to find jobs and keep them over time. Current projects are supporting coastal rehabilitation, watershed management, reforestation, micro-lending, SME development, and livestock dispersal. Through the last of these activities, beneficiaries are provided with animals for breeding, with offspring shared with others. Community-based forest management associations in Leyte (Visayas region) have plant one million trees in just five years with the support of the Foundation.
Kathleen Deckmyn-Cordero, Coordinator, DISOP Philippines Foundation, Symeon Antoulas joined other Belgians working with civil society organizations in the Philippines for presentations about ADB, including ADB's cooperation with NGOs, on 15 December 2003. To learn more about the DISOP ICRC-Philippines, contact disop-ph@mozcom.com.
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Upcoming Events
A listing in this section does not imply that funding is available to NGO participants.
- Organizational Capacity Assessment (workshop), 12-13 February 2004, Karachi, Pakistan. Contact: NGO Resource Centre, e-mail: http://www.piango.net; web site: http://222.ngorc.org.pk/html/workshop-OCA.htm.
- Volunteer Management (workshop), 26-27 February 2004, Karachi, Pakistan. Contact: NGO Resource Centre, e-mail: http://www.piango.net; web site: http://222.ngorc.org.pk/html/workshop-OCA.htm.
- Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (international course), 8-26 March 2004, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Contact: Monette Pacia, IIRR, tel: (63.46) 414.2417; fax: (63.46) 414.2420; e-mail: http://www.piango.net; web site: http://www.iirr.org.
- "Women, Men and Development in Southeast Asia" (gender training course), 20-27 March 2004, Bangkok, Thailand. Contract: Darunee Tantiwiramanond, Women's Action and Resource Initiative, e-mail: http://www.piango.net; web site: http://www.geocities.com/wari9/course2004.htm.
- Fifth International Workshop on Resource Mobilization, 26-28 March 2004, Johannesburg, South Africa. Contact; Louise O'Mahony, tel: (44.207) 587.0297; e-mail: http://www.piango.net; web site: http://www.resource-alliance.org.
- Third Pacific Regional Stakeholder Workshop on NGO Capacity Building, 21-23 April 2004, Nadi, Fiji Islands. Contact PIANGO Secretariat, tel: (679) 320.2963; fax: (679) 331.7046; e-mail: http://www.piango.net; web site: http://www.piango.net.
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Latest Documents Available from ADB
ADB makes hundreds of documents publicly available each year on its web site (http://www.adb.org) and through a growing network of 167 depository libraries around the world. The extensive on-line Publications Catalog allows users to browse through a list of over 4,000 titles. These include Country Economic Reviews (CERs), Environmental Impact Assessments, Project Completion Reports (PCRs), Reports and Recommendations of the President (RRPs), Summary Initial Environmental Examinations, and Technical Assistance Completion Reports (TACRs).
Recent releases include: Processing Status of 2003 Loan, Equity and Technical Assistance Projects; Policy and Operational Support and Capacity Building for the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority - India (TACR); Poverty Partnership Agreement Between the Solomon Islands and the Asian Development Bank; Preparing the Henan Wastewater Management Project – People's Republic of China (TAR); Strengthening the Capacity of Aid Coordination and Monitoring - Lao People's Democratic Republic (TACR); Promoting Silk Income for the Rural Poor in Central Highlands (Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction) - Viet Nam; Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project - Pakistan (PCR).
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Partnership Newsletter welcomes feedback from readers, and may publish letters received.
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Questions about the contents of Partnership Newsletter, or about ADB cooperation with NGOs, may be directed to Mr. Bart Édes at ngocoordinator@adb.org.
© Copyright 2003. 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 online. 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.
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