Photo: Maria Fleischmann

Latin america and the caribbean

Resilience to recent global turmoil allowed Latin America and the Carib bean to grow 45 percent in fiscal 2012. Growth is projected to slack to 34 percent as a result of the slowdown in China, the regions key trading part ner and the engine behind the solid growth and market diversification of the past few years. Even more modest growth is projected in the Caribbean and Central American countries. Unprecedented growth and economic stability over the past decade pulled some 73 million people in the region out of poverty. In spite of the global financial crisis, the region remained stable. World Bank Assistance Bank support for Latin America and the Caribbean reached $6.6 billion this fiscal year, of which $6.2 billion came from IBRD and $448 million from IDA, including $202 million in grants. Brazil ($3.2 billion), Mexico ($1.5 bil lion), and Colombia ($660 million) were the largest borrowers. The sectors of Public Administration, Law, and Justice ($2.0 billion); Transportation ($1.2 billion); and Education ($1.0 billion) received the most funding. The development agenda in the region needs a stronger focus on in creasing productivity, reducing dependence on low value-added com modity exports, addressing production capacity constraints, modernizing infrastructure, boosting innovation, and making the state more effective. The Bank supports efforts to sustain the regions economic growth while opening up opportunities for all through programs that increase the reation of quality jobs and assist people in need through conditional cash c transfers, which were pioneered in the region. Creating Opportunities To contribute to the regions demands for sustainable and socially inclusive growth, the World Bank has upped its strategic support to individual coun tries in the region. Conscious of the regions diverse development needs, the Bank delivers a suite of financial, advisory, and convening services that are tailored to each country. From straight financing of development projects, including sophisticated contingency lines of hazard-related credit, to in-depth de velopment research, the World Bank Group has supported the regions social and economic agendas to the tune of $14.7 billion in fiscal 2012. New strategies for Brazil and Bolivia are aligned with the countries ef forts to create more economic opportunities for the underprivileged and are built on advances of previous partnerships that expanded access to basic services, education, and health to many. Brazils $8 billion Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 20122015 calls for close coordination with its new national extreme poverty eradication program, Brasil sem Misria (Brazil without Poverty), which focuses on the northeastern states, to improve social and economic opportunities for 16 million of the countrys most vulnerable people. (See http://documents .worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/09/15273914/brazil-country-

FIGURE 2.7

FIGURE 2.8

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN IBRD AND IDA LENDING BY SECTOR | FISCAL 2012
SHARE OF TOTAL OF $6.6 BILLION

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN IBRD AND IDA LENDING BY THEME | FISCAL 2012
SHARE OF TOTAL OF $6.6 BILLION

Water, Sanitation, and Flood Protection

5%

11%

Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry

Urban Development Trade and Integration

< 1% 12%

12%

4%

Economic Management Environmental and Natural Resources Management Financial and Private Sector Development

Transportation

19% 16% < 1% 4% 9%

16%

Education Energy and Mining Finance Health and Other Social Services Industry and Trade

Social Protection and Risk Management Social Development, Gender, and Inclusion Rural Development Rule of Law

6%

3% 12% 1% 13% 21%

Public Administration, Law, and Justice

5% 31%

< 1% Information and Communications

Public Sector Governance

Human Development

Countries Eligible for World Bank Borrowing Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Belize Plurinational State of Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Repblica Bolivariana de Venezuela

IBRD 3494 AUGUST 2 for 2012 Annual Report locator m

partnership-strategy-cps-period-fy2012-2015.) In turn, Bolivias CPS will affect the lives of 3 million people, largely from rural areas, and support directly 1 million farmers in the countrys impoverished north. On the second anniversary of Haitis tragic earthquake, a new interim strategy provided $225 million in grants toward the countrys reconstruc tion efforts. This funding supports the safe return from camps of more than 22,000 displaced persons, improves neighborhoods for 75,000 people, and finances tuition waivers for about 100,000 schoolchildren. Children continued to top the Banks human development agenda. Five million mothers, and children from birth to age 6, benefited from pro grams developed throughout Latin America under the Early Childhood Initiative: An Investment for Life. After two years of operation, the initiative has approved $400 million worth of projects, doubling the initial projected funding, and surpassed the original total commitment of $300 million for the period 201013. In fiscal 2012, several countries took out lines of credit as insurance against unforeseen economic circumstances and the risk of natural disas ters. El Salvador activated a $50 million line of financing after massive flooding left thousands of Salvadorians homeless and caused widespread damage. Improving Citizen Security Crime and violence are key development challenges throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In parts of the region, this scourge has taken a steep toll on people and local economies. In Central America, for instance, 14,257 lives are claimed annually by crimean average of 40 people per daycosting countries up to 8 percent of their GDP.

The impact of crime and violence is so profound that experts fear de velopment can be set back many years as a consequence. This year, for the first time in the region, a CPS approved by the Board included a pillar on citizen security. The new CPS for Honduras, the country with the highest murder rate in the world, will support, among other things, the distribution of violence-prevention toolkits in at least 200 schools, as well as the implementation of a comprehensive security plan in at least 10 municipalities in the countrys center, north, and east regions. It will also help build institutional capacity against money laundering and an improved database for crime and violence. (See http://documents.world bank.org/curated/en/2011/11/15506299/honduras-countrypartnership-strategy-period-fy2012-2014.) The Bank has also contributed to addressing this issue by providing technical assistance to SICA (Central America Integration System) in devel oping the prevention pillar of the Central America Citizen Security Strategy and by convening key players from the private and public sectors to gen erate practical responses to the regions increasingly lax security. (See http://worldbank.org/lac.)

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN REGIONAL SNAPSHOT Total population Population growth Life expectancy at birth Infant mortality per 1,000 live births Female youth literacy Number of people living with HIV/AIDS 2011 GNI per capita GDP per capita index (2000 = 100) 0.6 billion 1.1% 74 years 18 97% 1.7 million $8,544 128

Latin America and the Caribbean Results Highlights  The Rio Grande do Norte Rural Poverty Reduction Project in Brazil has helped 90,000 poor rural families, created 12,000 jobs, provided 53,000 families with access to water, and more than tripled the agricultural productivity of beneficiaries of joint water and productive investments. The project also created 2,100 com munity associations, which are improving the relationship be tween poor communities and state and local authorities. (See http://go.worldbank.org/3VC16UY3R0.)  In Hondurasone of the most vulnerable countries in the world to natural disastersthe Natural Disaster Mitigation Project helped improve the countrys capacity for managing disaster risk and reduced local disaster vulnerability in participating munici palities. The project improved the flood early warning systems for four of the main watersheds destroyed by Hurricane Mitch and helped complete structural mitigation measures in 58 munici palities, benefiting more than 500,000 people. (See http://go .worldbank.org/CKKYM2YDT0.)

Note: Life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, and female youth literacy are for 2010; other indicators are for 2011 from the World Development Indicators database. HIV/AIDS data are from the 2012 UNAIDS report, Together We Will End AIDS.

TOTAL FISCAL 2012 TOTAL FISCAL 2012 New commitments IBRD $6,181 million IDA $448 million Disbursements IBRD $6,726 million IDA $342 million

Portfolio of projects under implementation as of June 30, 2012: $33.2 billion