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WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO? Social Development in South Asia. Maitreyi Bordia Das. What is social development?. Could be many things to many people but in the Bank it is defined as: Inclusion Cohesion Accountability Looking at development from the lens of the poor. South Asia.
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WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO?Social Development in South Asia Maitreyi Bordia Das
What is social development? • Could be many things to many people but in the Bank it is defined as: • Inclusion • Cohesion • Accountability • Looking at development from the lens of the poor
South Asia • Serves eight client countries with a total population of about 2 billion • Diversity – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka • Home to almost half of the world's poor and a focal area for Bank support to reduce poverty • Also among the regions with the fastest growing youth population
Where are the challenges? • Exclusion - traditional axes of exclusion remain strong – based on caste, ethnicity, gender • Conflict – Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Nepal and also within India • Governance failures – low accountability and failures in service delivery
Starkest outcome of gender based inequalities is death of young girls
India: Teacher absence by state Source: World Bank, 2005 based on Kremer et al, 2004
What does social development mean in South Asia? • Operational work • Social safeguard policies of the Bank to ensure that Bank projects do not harm but instead do good • Addressing involuntary resettlement • Analytical work • Policy advice and technical assistance programs (examples)
How are we organized? • Together with Environment and Water Resources • Part of a larger department of Sustainable Development • Environment and social issues are inextricably linked • Highly decentralized staff
Who are our partners? • Governments – core “clients” and our shareholders – first level of accountability • Civil society – whole range of actors from development to loobying organizations to academia • Development partners (bilateral and multilateral)