Tackling rural poverty, together

Extract

The World Bank Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) evaluation entitled "The Development Potential of Regional Programs ", finds that cross-border development programs can deliver strong results, such as providing reliable energy, managing shared water resources, enhancing environmental protection and combating the spread of communicable diseases. Existing programs have done well, but overall support for regional cooperation remains limited and the programs have often lacked sufficient planning to make them sustainable. During the past decade, only about 3 percent of all international development aid went to regional programs.

Key components that need to be in place to make regional programs more successful:

• Each participating country needs to be committed to the regional effort.
• Regional programs also need to have a clear division of responsibilities between the national and regional institutions.
• Governance arrangements need to give the participating countries a voice.