Haiti: World Bank Approves US$15.7 Million Grant for Urban Community-Driven Development

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2008 – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$15.7 million grant for the Republic of Haiti to provide basic infrastructure and social services for disadvantaged urban communities.

Public school in Labadee Village, Haiti.: Photo by Ali (CC)

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“Community-driven development projects, such as this one, support participatory decision making, local capacity building, and control of project financial resources by the communities themselves,” said Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean. “This grant will support the Government’s efforts to create sustainable services and opportunities in targeted urban areas by giving local communities the tools to become agents of their own development,” she emphasized.

The Urban Community-Driven Development Project will improve basic infrastructure and social services for residents of disadvantaged urban areas. This objective will be achieved through a participatory process in which community-based organizations propose, select, implement, and maintain subprojects.

This project will finance approximately 380 subprojects in 10* of the 17 “Priority Zones” identified by the Government of Haiti across five municipalities. The project will directly benefit approximately 85,000 individuals, while benefiting another 490,000 indirectly.

Specifically, the project will finance small-scale socioeconomic infrastructure and productive/income-generating subprojects, which are identified either by community-based organizations or jointly with municipal governments. In addition, it will finance the necessary training and technical assistance in basic management, administration, accounting, and financial management for Project Development Councils and municipal government officials to strengthen participatory development, supervision, and coordination capacity at the municipal-government level.

Overall, the project seeks to:

• Increase access to water (water kiosks, standpipes, community cisterns, rainwater capture);

• Increase access to sanitation (garbage collection, solid waste disposal, recycling, composting, sanitary blocks);

• Rehabilitate street and drainage infrastructure (clear and rehabilitated drainage canals, ditches, rehabilitated street and/or footpaths); and

• Improve social infrastructure and services (daycare centers, primary and secondary schools, health clinics, job training centers).

“This project builds on the successful experiences of the World Bank-supported Haiti Rural Community-Driven Development Project and Pilot Urban Community-Driven Development Project,” said Garry Charlier, World Bank task manager for the project.

“These targeted initiatives are based on the idea that communities are best positioned to determine their development priorities and that communities themselves are capable of managing financial resources and implementing projects given the appropriate technical assistance and training,” added Bernice van Bronkhorst, World Bank co-task manager for the project.

Since 2005, the World Bank has provided approximately US$230 million in grants to Haiti.

* Bel-Air/Solino/Ticheri; Martissant/Grand-Ravine/Cité de Dieu/Cité l’Eternel/Cité Plus; the disadvantaged urban area of Cité-Soleil (Metropolitan Area of Port-au-Prince); La Fossette/Nan Bannann/Shada; Bas-Ravine/Rival/Fort Bourgeois/Bande du Nord (Cap Haïtien); Kasoley; Raboteau/Jubile Blanc; Descahos/Trousable (Gonaïves); Portail Guêpe/Blockhaus/La Scierie and Portail Montrouis/Fressinaut (St Marc).

Source: World Bank