LIMA, May 14 (Reuters) - The World Bank is forecasting slower economic growth for Latin America in 2008 due to higher food and fuel costs, but stressed the region is ready to weather a global slowdown, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Pamela Cox, the bank's vice president for Latin America, said growth for the region this year should be "more or less" 4.5 percent. Her last estimate of 4.8 percent was given to Reuters in April and was lower than a previous forecast of 5.1 percent.
"Compared to previous crises, Latin America is much stronger than it used to be because countries are growing, they've been following sensible macro policies, they have reserves and they've addressed financial sector regulation," Cox told reporters on the eve of a summit of leaders from some 60 European and Latin American countries.
She said the economic slowdown in the United States threatens to hit Mexico and Central America hardest because of their integration with the U.S. market.
The World Bank plans to lend some $5.8 billion to Latin America this year, up from $4.8 billion in 2007, with most of the increase going to development projects in Brazil. (Reporting by Jean Luis Arce; Writing by Dana Ford; editing by Gary Crosse) ((dana.ford@thomsonreuters.com; +511-221-2130; Lima newsroom)) Keywords: EU LATINAMERICA/WORLDBANK
By Lesley Wroughton
WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - The World Bank on Wednesday unveiled a four-year strategy to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa that shifts focus from emergency response to long-term development.
The change was made possible after billions of dollars in grant funding became available from the U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Geneva-based Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which alone has committed $10.7 billion to fight disease.
The World Bank has sent $1.5 billion to more than 30 African countries to fight HIV/AIDS since 2000.
"With AIDS the largest single cause of premature death in Africa, we can't talk about better, lasting development there without also committing to stay the course in the long-term fight against the disease," said Elizabeth Lule, manager of the World Bank's AIDS Team for Africa.
The World Bank said it would concentrate on advising countries on how best to manage the new international funding, and at the local level try to help governments take a long-term view on how to best tackle the disease.
It plans to help governments integrate HIV/AIDS services with those for pregnant mothers and children and services which fight malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases.
New HIV/AIDS infections in Africa are rising. For every person starting HIV drug treatment, which can keep patients healthy for years and prevent the development of full-blown AIDS, another four to six are newly infected, the World Bank said.
However statistics do indicate falling prevalence in Kenya, parts of Botswana, the Ivory Coast, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
The bank said about 22.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were HIV positive. Some private firms are recruiting two workers for every job to replace those who die.
It said more than 60 percent of people living with HIV in Africa are women, and that young women are six times more likely to be HIV positive than young men. Also, an estimated 11.4 million children under age 18 have lost at least one parent to the disease.
"The World Bank reaffirms its long-term commitment to assist partner countries achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by integrating AIDS into their national development agendas, scaling up responses, and strengthening national systems," said Peter Piot of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
(Editing by Alan Elsner) ((lesley.wroughton@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: 1-202-898-8317; Reuters Messaging: lesley.wroughton.reuters.com@reuters.net;)) Keywords: WORLDBANK/AIDS
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MANILA, May 14 (Reuters) - The World Bank has approved a $232 million loan for a Philippine road project after putting it on hold last year following allegations of bid-rigging in the first phase of the project, officials said on Wednesday.
The bank's board of executive directors approved the loan on Tuesday after the Philippine government adopted measures to prevent any recurrence of corruption, World Bank officials in Manila said.
"Beyond building roads, this project will support long-term measures to help the government increase efficiency and address corruption in the public sector," Bert Hoffman, the World Bank's country director for the Philippines, said.
The World Bank project is the second phase of a programme to improve the Philippines' creaking road and bridge network. In the first phase, the World Bank rejected two contracts worth $33 million because of signs of collusion and excessive pricing.
The World Bank lent $150 million to the government for the first phase of the road project.
In November, the World Bank board recommended postponing financing of the second phase until government measures to prevent any further irregularities took effect.
Some two months before that, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suspended a $330 million government telecoms deal with Chinese firm ZTE due to allegations of corruption.
The Philippines has been battling deeply rooted graft and corruption that has put off foreign investors, but it has had limited success.
The second phase of the road-building programme costs a total of $576 million, the World Bank said. The rest of the financing will come from the Philippine government and from the Australian government aid agency, AusAid.
Under this phase, 450 km (280 miles) of arterial roads and bridges will be upgraded and repaired across the archipelago.
One of the measures adopted by the government for this phase is the use of an independent procurement evaluator from the private sector to ensure there will be no repeat of the bid rigging in the first phase.
The World Bank said it was considering blacklisting the contractors involved in the bid rigging, which meant they would not be allowed to participate in the second phase of the project.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said other development financing agencies such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) could adopt the new measures implemented by the World Bank and the Philippines.
Japan, the Philippines' biggest source of official development aid, was considering a loan of nearly $200 million for a similar road network improvement project and the government hoped to finalise the loan within the year, Andaya said. (Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Alan Raybould) ((raju.gopalakrishnan@thomsonreuters.com; +632 841 8914; Reuters Messaging: raju.gopalakrishnan.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: PHILIPPINES WORLDBANK/
MANILA, May 14 (Reuters) - The World Bank has approved a $232 million loan for a Philippine road project after putting it on hold last year following allegations of bid-rigging in the first phase of the project, officials said on Wednesday.
The bank's board of executive directors approved the loan on Tuesday after the Philippine government adopted measures to prevent any recurrence of corruption, World Bank officials in Manila said.
"Beyond building roads, this project will support long-term measures to help the government increase efficiency and address corruption in the public sector," World Bank Philippines country director Bert Hoffman said.
The project is the second phase of a programme to improve roads in the Philippines. In the first phase, the World Bank rejected two contracts worth $33 million because of signs of collusion and excessive pricing.
The World Bank lent $150 million to the government for the first phase of the roads project.
In November, the World Bank board recommended postponing financing of the second phase until government measures to prevent any recurrence of irregularities took effect.
The second phase of the road building programme costs a total of $576 million, the World Bank said. The rest of the financing will come from the Philippine government and from the Australian government aid agency AusAid.
Under the project's second phase, 450 km of arterial roads and bridges will be upgraded and rehabilitated across the archipelago. (Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) ((raju.gopalakrishnan@thomsonreuters.com; +632 841 8914; Reuters Messaging: raju.gopalakrishnan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: PHILIPPINES WORLDBANK/
WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is revising an existing lending instrument that disburses funding as quickly as possible to countries struggling with soaring food prices, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Mark Plant, deputy director of the IMF's policy development and review department, said the revised Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF) would be considered by the fund's board in June.
"The modified facility will provide more rapid and effective shocks financing and be a streamlined version of the structure of financing instruments for low-income countries," Plant told an IMF publication.
"But I would underscore that the ESF is available now, if any country needs immediate help," he added.
While the facility was designed to help countries affected by shocks from events such as commodity price changes, natural disasters or conflict, most countries affected by the higher food prices have instead opted to increase loans under existing financing arrangements.
Plant said the IMF was in discussion with 10 to 15 poor countries on possible financial help to address balance of payments problems stemming from rising food and fuel prices.
"In other words, the fund can help fund import costs," Plant said, adding: "At the same time, teams will very carefully assess the emergency measures put in place in their countries to make sure that they adequately target the most vulnerable."
While signs of possible food shortages have been visible for some time, no one could have expected that financial market turmoil and an oil price increase would occur at a time when food supplies were at historical lows.
He said governments were currently faced with tough policy choices and economic implications related to higher food costs, including how quickly to pass on higher food prices, how to prevent rising price increases from leading to permanently higher inflation expectations, and how to deal with balance of payments and fiscal financing gaps.
Plant said the IMF has advised countries to coordinate their responses to the higher prices at a regional level, take actions that focus on the poor and adopt measures that don't disrupt food supplies.
For example, subsidizing certain types of rice that are consumed by the poor would be more helpful than subsidizing petroleum products. Cutting tariffs on certain foods may also work as well as temporary fertilizer subsidies or expanding school feeding programs.
"We are also telling country authorities that some policies can be distortionary and inefficient, such as generalized subsidies and across-the-board wage increases," he said.
"If wage increases are necessary, they should be targeted at low-income workers, and be financed in a non-inflationary manner, to avoid a wage-price spiral," Plant added. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; editing by Gary Crosse) ((lesley.wroughton@reuters.com; Washington newsroom +1-202-898-8317)) Keywords: IMF FOOD/
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