Service Highlights Posting of New Information on ADB’s Website
A new e-notification system informs subscribers when information is posted on ADB’s website. The system is part of ADB’s broader commitment to improve knowledge dissemination and expand transparency of its operations. Individuals may register to receive free e-mail notices about newly posted information by country, region, and document type. Subscribers can also request information posted in languages other than English, as well as announcements about job and business opportunities. To receive e-mail notices, please register here.
ADB Adopts New Financing Approaches to Improve its Services
ADB has approved three initiatives to remove bottlenecks that constrain the institution’s capacity to meet the financing needs of its developing member countries in a timely way. The initiatives are part of the “Innovation and Efficiency Initiative” that aims to make ADB more relevant, responsive, and results-driven. Among other things, ADB will provide more flexibility in determining cost-sharing with borrowing countries, and expand the range of expenses eligible for ADB financing. For more information, contact Juan Miranda, Senior Adviser, Regional and Sustainable Development Department, at jmiranda@adb.org.
Stakeholder Views Sought on Water Policy Implementation
Representatives of research institutes, universities, and community-based service and environmental education organizations are among those participating in the ongoing review of the implementation of ADB's Water Policy. ADB has organized six in-country consultations to date across the Asia and Pacific region, and two regional consultation events are planned in the Philippines before the end of 2005, including a regional consultation for civil society on 18 November. Civil society representatives are invited to provide inputs through the survey found at http://www.adb.org/Water/Policy/survey-01.asp. For more information, contact the review’s lead facilitator, Kathryn Nelson, ADB Consultant, at knelson@adb.org.
Grant Supports NGO Engagement in the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
A $1 million grant from the ADB-administered Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund will support the design and demonstration of models for NGO participation in government-funded poverty reduction efforts at the village level in the PRC. The grant will build a comprehensive framework for mainstreaming NGOs into national poverty alleviation efforts. The initiative complements ongoing and planned ADB support to exploring new models for rural microfinance and alternative rural livelihoods in the PRC. For more information, contact Christopher Spohr, Social Sector Economist, PRC Resident Mission, at cspohr@adb.org.
Primary Health Care Program Helps Poor Women in Bangladesh
The health status of thousands of urban residents in Bangladesh will be improved through a package of high-impact health services implemented largely by NGOs through a $40 million ADB loan and grant package. The project will ensure that at least 30% of the preventive, promotive, and curative health services target poor people earning less than 700 taka (about $11) per month. Nutritional supplements will also be given to severely malnourished women and children. The project will also finance construction and upgrading of dozens of primary health care facilities in Dhaka. For more information, contact Sekhar Bonu, Health Specialist, South Asia Department, at sbonu@adb.org.
Project Aims to Rehabilitate Aceh’s Coral Reef and Mangrove Resources
Poor coastal communities in Aceh Province, Indonesia, will soon benefit from a $1.5 million ADB grant supporting rehabilitation and effective management of coral reef and mangrove resources that were seriously damaged by last December’s massive tsunami. The grant is financed from the ADB-administered Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), and will be implemented by an NGO, the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement. For more information, contact Bobur Alimov, Project Economist, Southeast Asia Department, at balimov@adb.org.
Rural Residents in Two Kyrgyz Regions to Gain new Opportunities
ADB has approved a $1 million JFPR grant to improve and expand economic livelihood opportunities on small private farms and household plots in the Chui and Osh Regions of the Kyrgyz Republic. The project also aims to improve farm practices, create self-help groups in targeted villages, and increase access to microfinance. It will be implemented through local NGOs. For more information, contact John Whittle, Principal Project Economist, East and Central Asia Department, at jwhittle@adb.org.
Board Approves Action on ADB-Assisted Road Project in Sri Lanka
In July 2005, ADB's Board of Directors approved recommendations made by the ADB Compliance Review Panel (CRP) in its Final Report on the request for compliance review of the Southern Transport Development Project in Sri Lanka. This is the first compliance review case that has been considered by the Board under the ADB Accountability Mechanism, which entered into effect in 2003. The CRP is now monitoring implementation of the Board-approved actions. The Final Report and other information are available online. For more information about the project, contact Alessandro Pio, Country Director, Sri Lanka Resident Mission (apio@adb.org).
ADB Staff Members Support 18 Community Organizations in Metro Manila
During the first 8 months of 2005, ADB’s Staff Community Fund (SCF) has provided 4.6 million pesos (about $82,000) in grants to 18 nonprofit groups. Financed by donations of ADB staff, SCF has been providing support to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Metro Manila, Philippines since 1997. Recent beneficiaries include NGOs working to feed and educate homeless children, create jobs for the disabled, provide foster care for abandoned babies, and teach sign language to public school teachers. For more information, contact Sue Hooper, SCF’s Alternate Secretary, at StaffCommunityFund@adb.org.
Toolkit Assists Efforts to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The United Nations has published the United Nations Development Group Training Toolkit for MDGs, developed in close collaboration with the World Bank and the Millennium Project. It is designed to strengthen the capacity of United Nations country teams to effectively support national efforts to achieve the MDGs, and to integrate them in national poverty reduction strategies. For more information, contact Liliana Ramirez at liliana.ramirez@undp.org.
Nominations Sought for the Sophie Prize
The Norway-based Sofie Foundation awards the $100,000 Sophie Prize each year to an individual or organization that, in a pioneering or a particularly creative way, has pointed to alternative methods of achieving environmentally sustainable development. The foundation invites nominations through 20 November at sophiefo@online.no. Additional details are available at http://www.sophieprize.org.*
CGIAR Offers Small Grants to Improve Agricultural Water Productivity
The “Challenge Program on Water and Food” is a research-for-development program that seeks to identify ways to improve agricultural water productivity. The program, sponsored by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), intends to make available up to $800,000 in small grants to support projects offering innovative ways in which research on water productivity might be followed through to achieve developmental impact. NGOs are particularly invited to submit proposals. For application details, contact cpwfimpact@waterforfood.org.
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