Links between civil society and World Bank projects in Latin America are weak
30 March 2007
Civil society is often neglected in the implementation of World Bank projects in Latin America, a new Alliance report suggests. However, the projects themselves are well designed and do include key populations and civil society at the design stage.
The report, commissioned by the Alliance will be discussed at a breakfast meeting on 20 April at the Latin America regional HIV/AIDS conference (Foro 2007), in Buenos Aires. Hosted by the Alliance, the meeting will look for ways to improve collaboration. The Alliance is to have a major presence at Foro 2007, hosting a number of satellites.
Ensuring that funding flows efficiently from large international organisations like the Global Fund, the World Bank and PEPFAR to grassroots non-governmental and community-based organisations is a challenge in many countries, and the Alliance is keen to promote dialogue and an improved flow of information and resources.
The study was carried out by consultant Wendy Roseberry, who previously worked for ten years at the World Bank. It looks at the relationship between World Bank HIV funding and civil society in the Latin Amercia and Caribbean region. It maps World Bank engagement with HIV and the role of civil society and key populations in the region. It also identifies the factors that help facilitate the access of civil society to World Bank resources. More background to the report is available here.
Brazil is seen as one of the few success stories in Latin America in terms of requiring a strong input from civil society into its use of World Bank funds. In the Caribbean, meanwhile, significantly more projects are now also attempting to work with both government and non-government agencies. In Jamaica, for example, 10 per cent of World Bank funding is channelled to non-governmental organisations, which facilitates outreach to key populations through both non-governmental organisations and Ministry of Health direct outreach.
For more information on the report or the meeting on 20 April, contact Steve Lewis, head of the Latin Amercia and Caribbean team at the Alliance secretariat, on slewis@aidsalliance.org.
For a programme of Alliance events at the Regional AIDS conference in Argentina, contact lacregional@aidsalliance.org.
