Latest update April 17th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 05, 2011 News
The World Bank says economic opportunities, quality job prospects and a cushion from the worst impacts of food price increases as well as the global recession, were provided to millions of Caribbean and Latin American families in 2011.
In its end-of-year lending report, the Washington-based financial institution said it committed US$14.7 billion in 2011 to support the region’s sustainable economic recovery.
It said most of those resources were geared towards helping the region find its way to social, public administration and clean transportation programmes.
“Bank initiatives spurred opportunities for all through programmes that increase productivity, create new good-quality jobs, and assist those most in need, particularly through conditional cash transfers, which were pioneered in the region,” the World Bank said in a statement.
It said social services that provide health, education and nutrition services to the poor became the backbone of its support to Latin American and the Caribbean in 2011, with more than US$3 billion devoted to programmes and advice.
World Bank expert, Helena Ribe, said social safety nets covered 120 million people in 18 countries in Latin American and the Caribbean, becoming the most far-reaching and effective set of social programmes.
“These programmes have had the ability to prevent people from falling into extreme poverty following the recent economic crisis and the impacts of food price increases around the globe,” said Ribe, who heads the bank’s social protection division for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ribe also noted that conditional cash transfer programmes are showing positive results in reducing malnutrition and child labour and improving school attendance.
She said that public administration and transportation also received top funding with US$1.9 billion and US$1.1 billion, respectively.
The bank said that Latin America and the Caribbean experienced one of the strongest periods of growth in a century between 2002 and 2010, due to strong macro-economic policies and boom in commodity prices.
As a result, it said that more than 50 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2002 and 2010, adding that, for the first time, inroads were made against persistent inequality.
The bank said “solid growth” of between four and five per cent is projected for the region in 2011.
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