Evaluating The Effectiveness Of World Bank Programs During...

I. Introduction The success of development institutions such as the World Bank has been questioned for decades. This paper seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of World Bank programs in sub-Saharan Africa. The question to be answered is: Hurting or helping?: Is the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa effective or ineffective? This paper will evaluate the efficacy of the World Bank’s Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative in Uganda, Senegal, and Ghana. Using secondary analysis, we examine two research studies conducted by the World Bank to draw conclusions about HIPC’s effectiveness. We expect to find that the World Bank program has been largely effective in sub-Saharan Africa. Established in 1944 at the†¦show more content†¦The World Bank’s initial aim was to help rebuild European countries destroyed by World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, the focus shifted to large infrastructure projects such as dams and roads. In the 1970s, the Bank’s attention shifted to poverty eradication where efforts focused on urban development and food production. At this time the Bank began offering structural adjustment loans. In the 1980s, the Bank enlarged its focus to social development such as education and good governance. More recently, the Bank has seen many successes. In 2013, over 3,000 women in Ethiopia benefitted from a special line of credit for female entrepreneurs backed by the World Bank. In addition, a health sector support program in Cambodia financed 280 health centers, 12 non-communicable disease clinics, 15 maternity wards, and a pharmacy. The program led to health care coverage for three million people and a 27% increase in babies de livered by trained personnel. Lastly, the World Bank supported efforts in 2010 to deliver clean water to Beirut citizens. They funded a water infrastructure project that supplied water to over 350,000 low-income residents in the Southern Beirut suburbs. Despite its many successes over the years, development experts still question the effectiveness of the World Bank, which this paper will determine. II. Methods