Technical Assistance

Africa

Sector: Education
Purpose: Upgrading the training facilities of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP)
Amount: US$70,000
Approved: September 22, 1998
Total cost: US$130,000
Cofinanciers: UNDP
Implementing agency: IDEP
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grant is to enhance training and conference facilities at IDEP, located in Dakar, Senegal. Established in 1962, the Institute works to improve economic planning and development capabilities in 53 member countries by conducting training courses, organizing workshops and conferences, and providing advisory services for public officials involved in planning, development and finance. In view of the increasing importance of information technology (IT) in these areas, it has become necessary for the Institute to upgrade its own IT facilities. This grant will help provide the computer hard and software, and the LAN (local area network) the Institute needs to be able to offer training in IT applications in economic analysis, management and planning. Simultaneous interpretation equipment will also be installed to make bilingual training possible. Through its expanded capacity, the Institute will be able to help public officials optimize the management of national economic resources, thus benefiting the member states.

Polio is one of the few diseases that can be totally eradicated, provided universal immunization can be achieved.

African Countries Affected by Conflict¹

Sector: Health
Purpose: Polio Eradication in African Countries Affected by Conflict
Amount: US$150,000
Approved: September 22, 1998
Total cost: US$27.42 million (annual budget)
Implementing agencies: Ministries of Health of the beneficiary countries in cooperation with WHO, UNICEF and NGOs
Cofinanciers: WHO, USAID, UNICEF, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary International, vaccine producers and governments of Canada, Belgium, Norway and the United Kingdom
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund
The grant is in support of a campaign to eradicate polio worldwide by the year 2000. Over 100 countries have conducted successful immunization campaigns since 1991, reducing the number of cases by 90%. Although large areas of the world are now polio-free, this crippling and often fatal disease continues to claim its victims in those areas of southern Asia and Africa where armed conflicts have prevented universal immunization. This campaign will concentrate on ten sub-Saharan African countries, where eradication operations are extremely urgent because of the high risk of travelers or refugees carrying the virus into neighboring, polio-free states. The goal of the campaign is to immunize all children under five. National immunization days are planned, as well as strengthened routine immunization services and surveillance systems. Total eradication will bring estimated savings of $1.5 billion per year and substantially strengthen the health care systems of the endemic countries.

¹ Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, D.R. Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia and the Sudan.

Arab Countries²

Sector: Health
Purpose: Pan-Arab Project for Family Health (PAPFAM)
Amount: US$150,000
Approved: March 17, 1998
Total cost: US$7.382 million
Cofinanciers: AGFund, Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences, Arab Council for Childhood and Development, LAS, UNFPA, WHO and UNICEF
Implementing agencies: LAS and Ministries of Health and national statistical centers of beneficiary countries
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

PAPFAM aims at improving family and reproductive health in Arab countries. To this end, surveys and studies will be conducted and accurate databases developed as necessary precursors for the implementation of effective health policies and programs. In the Pan-Arab Family Health Survey, 6,000 sample households in each of 16 Arab countries will be interviewed to determine the quality, coverage and use of health services in the various communities. Other studies will deal with gynecology, reproductive health and family planning services. The data will then be analyzed and integrated into health information systems as a reference for planning regional health projects.

² Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

Asia³

Sector: Education
Purpose: Upgrading Maritime Training Institutes and updating training programs in Asia
Amount: US$100,000
Approved: September 22, 1998
Total cost: US$1 million
Cofinanciers: IMO, EC and Government of Norway
Implementing agencies: IMO and National Maritime Training Institutions
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

Over 40% of officers and 60% of seamen (ratings) come from Asian countries, making Asia the largest supplier of maritime labor. Since the 1995 Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training . . . for Seafarers were adopted, better training has become necessary to ensure that Asian nationals will continue to meet the international standards and qualify for employment in the world's merchant marine. For this reason, many Asian countries have requested the IMO's assistance in upgrading their maritime training institutes and programs. This grant will cofinance an IMO-led project for updating programs, developing trainers' skills, upgrading and equipping existing facilities, and providing equipment and materials at maritime institutes in ten Asian countries. The IMO exists to achieve safe and efficient navigation, control maritime pollution and facilitate cooperation among governments on technical matters affecting international shipping.

³ Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, I.R., Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam

Eager to protect their status as the leading source of seagoing labor, Asian countries are working to strengthen their maritime training programs.

Bolivia

Sector: Education
Purpose: Social development through assistance to pre-school children
Amount: US$150,000
Approved: June 18, 1998
Total cost: US$13.5 million
Cofinanciers: UNICEF, WHO, local communities and the governments of Canada and Bolivia
Implementing agencies: National Social Solidarity and Development Board, Ministry of Social Welfare and Public Health, Ministry of Education and Culture, Bolivian Social Investment Fund, WFP, UNICEF and WHO
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grant is in support of an ongoing day-care center program which seeks to provide education, improved nutrition, primary health care and psycho-social stimulation to half a million children of pre-school age in some of Bolivia's poorest rural and semi-rural areas. The program currently sponsors 13,000 day-care centers. Many of the centers also double as community training facilities, offering courses and workshops on nutrition, health care and education to both parents and the wider community. This grant will finance a three-year extension of the program, thereby enabling 56,000 children to benefit from day-care attendance and allowing 7,000 adults to participate in courses and workshops. The grant will also cover part of the costs for rehabilitating the centers, purchasing furniture and teaching materials, and providing cash stipends for the specially trained mothers who supervise the centers on a volunteer basis.

A grant to Bolivia will help support day-care centers in some of the country's poorest villages and rural areas.

Ethiopia

Sector: Health
Purpose: Public Health Training in Ethiopia (Phase I)
Amount: US$200,000
Approved: September 22, 1998
Total cost: US$3.51 million
Cofinanciers: USAID, Rockefeller Foundation, private donors and the governments of Sweden, Norway and Ethiopia
Implementing agencies: The Carter Center, Ministries of Health and Ministry of Education
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grant will cofinance a public health project in Ethiopia, where 55% of the population still lack access to clinics or health care centers. To address the problem, the Government plans to establish some 500 new health centers in rural areas, where the need for better primary care, integrated disease prevention and health promotion services is particularly great. This project will support that undertaking by helping to upgrade training programs for public health nurses, laboratory and environmental health technicians, and other health personnel needed to staff the new health centers. Workshops, courses and conferences will be organized with the aim of developing a core of expert teaching personnel. The training capacity at five medical colleges will be strengthened by upgrading classrooms, dormitories, libraries and staff housing, and by providing teaching materials, textbooks, medical journals and office equipment, including computers. The grant will be channeled through The Carter Center, a development cooperation institution dedicated to resolving conflicts and fighting disease, hunger and poverty around the world.

In Ethiopia, training programs will prepare paramedical and health care personnel needed to staff health care centers in under-served rural areas.

Jordan

Sector: Education
Purpose: Establishment of the Jubilee School Center for Excellence in Education (JSCEE)
Amount: US$320,000
Approved: September 22, 1998
Total cost: US$469,800
Cofinancier: Noor Al-Hussein Foundation
Implementing agency: Noor Al-Hussein Foundation
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund
The grant will help finance the establishment of a center for training, counseling and research in education. The center will disseminate the state-of-the-art approaches to learning practiced at the Jubilee School, where high ability children are challenged to achieve their full potential through experimentation, discovery, creative problem solving and freedom of thought and expression. Drawing on the experience and expertise gained through the School, pedagogical trainers at the Center will train teachers and counselors from all over Jordan, so they can introduce the Jubilee School methods in their community schools. JSCEE will also offer student counseling on future education and career goals. The Center is expected to foster high quality teaching throughout Jordan, benefiting not only high achievers, but also children of normal ability, thus strengthening the country's human resources.

A computer class at the Jubilee School. The adjacent Center for Excellence in Education will provide pedagogical training for teachers from all over Jordan.

Latin American, Caribbean and African countries

Sector: Industry
Purpose: Technical and economic cooperation between Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa
Amount: US$150,000
Approved: September 22, 1998
Cofinanciers: Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund, UNDP, Latin American Economic System (SELA) and OAU
Total cost: US$503,000
Implementing agency: SELA
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grant will go towards a project which seeks to strengthen economic and technical cooperation between developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and those in Africa. The project was initiated by SELA, a 25-member organization which promotes regional cooperation and integration. As part of a program to help its member states compete more effectively in the international economy, SELA recently studied micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and their capacity for generating employment. Although such enterprises play an important role in the economies of developing countries, they are often disadvantaged by their lack of technical expertise, and good marketing and management skills. As a gesture of South-South cooperation, SELA plans to share with African countries what it has learned about small businesses and how to help them overcome their handicaps, with the aim of increasing productivity and reducing unemployment in both regions. The project will begin by identifying counterpart organizations and determining the needs of the Africa region. Plans call for developing an agency for bi-regional cooperation and for holding workshops and seminars to inform potential beneficiaries, identify business opportunities and plan possible joint endeavors.

Madagascar

Sector: Agriculture
Purpose: Locust Control Campaign
Amount: US$150,000
Approved: December 1, 1998
Total cost: US$12.37 million
Cofinanciers: AfDB, EC, USAID and Governments of France and China
Implementing agencies: National Committee for Locust Control (NCLC) and Plant Protection Services/FAO
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

By the end of June 1998, nearly the entire island of Madagascar had been invaded by hordes of Madagascar Migratory Locust, probably as a result of unusually favorable breeding conditions for the insects the previous year. Despite massive aerial spraying campaigns in late 1997, a large locust population survived and continued to wreak havoc on the island's agriculture, thereby posing a serious threat to the country's economy. This grant is in support of an ongoing FAO-sponsored campaign that will be extended into 1999. The program includes ground control, aerial spraying and a locust survey to locate the swarms, assess the situation and organize effective spraying operations. The program also aims at strengthening the NCLC's capability to forecast locust invasions and plan control measures.

The Fund is helping support a campaign to protect Madagascar from swarms of locust that threaten to destroy the island's agriculture.

Middle East

Sector: Agriculture
Purpose: Eradication of Old World Screwworm in the Middle East
Amount: US$300,000
Approved: March 17, 1998
Total cost: US$10.035 million
Implementing agencies: Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and Ministries of Agriculture of beneficiary countries
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grant was made in support of an AOAD campaign to contain an outbreak of Old World Screwworm and eradicate a scourge which, if uncontrolled, would destroy livestock and wildlife throughout the Middle East. Focusing initially on emergency control operations, the campaign provided insecticides, spraying equipment and livestock dipping facilities. A collaborative network was established among the participating states (Iraq, I.R. Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey) to monitor the spread of the pest and provide training in diagnostic, treatment and control methods. In addition, an information service and a public awareness campaign were launched.

Treating a wounded camel. Uncontrolled, the screwworm could ravage livestock and wildlife throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Nicaragua

Sector: Water supply and sewerage
Purpose: Water supply and environmental sanitation
Amount: US$100,000
Approved: March 17, 1998
Total cost: US$4 million
Cofinanciers: UNICEF and Government of Sweden
Implementing agencies: Department of Rural Water Works, Ministry of Social Action, UNICEF and beneficiary municipalities
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grant is in support of an ongoing UNICEF-sponsored program, which aims at providing half the rural population of Nicaragua with access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities by the year 2000. Specifically, the program involves the construction and equipping of 80 wells, three gravity-fed water supply systems and 1,700 latrines. It also aims at changing the attitudes and practices of rural families in regard to personal hygiene and environmental health. Community participation in managing and maintaining the new facilities will also be encouraged to ensure the sustainability of the new systems. In all, around 10,000 people from 12 municipalities in the Chontales and Boaco departments are expected to benefit from the project.

A grant to Nicaragua will be used to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in some of the country's poorest rural communities.

Palestine

1.

Sector: Education
Purpose: Early Childhood Education and Care
Amount: US$100,000
Approved: March 17, 1998
Total cost: US$456,900
Cofinanciers: NOVIB, Christian Aid, Welfare Association, Van Leer Foundation, Municipality of Milan, Italy and Oxfam (U.K.)
Implementing agency: Early Childhood Resource Center (ECRC)
Grant administrator: Arab Fund

The grant was made to the Jerusalem-based ECRC in support of an ongoing program that seeks to foster the education and development of pre-school Palestinian children, many of whom are adversely affected during their formative years by the unstable environment they live in. The organizers of the ECRC recognize that the early education of such children should not only ensure their physical and intellectual growth, but also promote healthy social and psychological development. To this aim, the ECRC provides specialized, in-service training for teachers and caretakers to equip them to meet the special needs of Palestinian children. It also designs and prepares early education learning materials and teaching aids for this purpose. To date, 886 pre-school teachers have participated in ECRC training courses. This grant will contribute towards training an additional 120 teachers during the school year 1998-99.

One of three grants to Palestine in 1998 went to the ECRC for a pre-school program designed to meet the special needs of Palestinian children.

2.

Sector: Education
Purpose: Establishment of a computer center at Al-Khalil University
Amount: US$200,000
Approved: December 1, 1998
Total cost: US$800,000
Cofinancier: Arab Fund
Implementing agency: Al-Khalil University
Grant administrator: Arab Fund

The grant was extended in support of a project to establish and equip a computer center at Al-Khalil University, thereby providing Palestinian students and staff with the means to develop computer skills. Specifically, the project aims to provide computer training to students in all faculties and to establish the basis for future degree studies in Computer Science. Besides helping the country meet its rapidly growing need for computer literate manpower, the project will help the University administration streamline and computerize its managerial services. Established in 1971, Al-Khalil University has an annual enrollment of 1,600 students and a teaching staff of 45. In addition to Liberal Arts studies, it offers courses in Finance and Management Services, Agricultural Science and Islamic Law.

Palestinian doctors are still in short supply. A grant to Al-Quds University will cofinance the costs of equipping and operating the School of Medicine.

3.

Sector: Education
Purpose: Equipping the Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University
Amount: US$400,000
Approved: June 18, 1998
Total cost: US$7.135 million
Cofinanciers: Arab Fund Foundation for the Al-Quds University Medical School, Al-Quds University and tuition fees
Implementing agency: Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University
Grant administrator: Arab Fund

Al-Quds Faculty of Medicine was established in 1994 in response to a severe shortage of Palestinian physicians. This grant will cofinance the costs of operating the Medical School for the academic years 1998-2001. By providing essential medical and laboratory equipment, teaching materials, resources and textbooks, the grant will help the Medical Faculty continue to provide modern, high quality training for the 150 students currently enrolled. Despite financial restraints which force the School to share classrooms, laboratories and equipment with the Faculty of Science and Technology, the School expects to have 20 to 30 graduates per year beginning in 2001. Plans are now being made with the international donor community for the construction of a Medical School building. In the interim, this grant will help the School meet the needs of its students.

Rwanda

Sector: Agriculture and Agro-Industry
Purpose: Rwanda Returnees Rehabilitation Program
Amount: US$150,000
Approved: December 1, 1998
Total cost: US$3.6 million
Cofinanciers: IFAD and the Government of Switzerland
Implementing agencies: Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Affairs, and IFAD
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grant will help support an ongoing IFAD program designed to deal with the urgent survival problems of the 2.2 million Rwandan refugees who have returned to the country since hostilities abated. The massive re-entry has aggravated an already precarious situation, overtaxing severely limited resources and increasing the number of people at risk. To combat the immediate problems of hunger and malnutrition, the program is providing livestock to target communities and distributing packages of planting materials and basic tools to 45,000 vulnerable smallholder families. The packages will enable them to plant crops, work their fields and meet their basic food needs. The program is also training local government authorities with the aim of improving their capacity to implement the program and encourage the development of community initiatives, thereby helping to lay the foundation for sustainable, long-term development.

Over 2.2 million Rwandan refugees have returned to a country bereft of food reserves, planting materials, tools and other essential supplies.

UNDP Energy Account - Wind Energy-based Village Electrification in Morocco

Sector: Energy
Purpose: Pilot project to demonstrate the viability of wind-powered generating stations in rural communities
Amount: US$20,000.
Approved: April 20, 1998
Total Cost: US$210,000.
Implementing agencies: Office National de l'Electricité (ONE) and the foundation Énergies pour le monde
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

Despite ongoing rural electrification projects, over 85% of all villages in Morocco will still be without electricity in the year 2000. In most cases, the national grid is too distant, and diesel generators or solar photovoltaic systems are too expensive. To speed electrification, the Government wants to utilize windmills, a renewable source with particular promise. The aim of this pilot project is to demonstrate that autonomous, wind-powered generators can provide rural villages with reliable, affordable electricity. The project will supply generating and distribution hardware, technical assistance and a feasibility study. Particular emphasis will be placed on ensuring the financial and technical sustainability of the system, and training for the local residents in operating and maintaining the stations is included. A local firm, contracted by ONE, will be responsible for management, maintenance and billing.

Modern windmills located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco are already supplying ample amounts of electricity to the national grid.