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A Guide to the World Bank
Comprehensive Development Framework The Comprehensive Development Framework, adopted in January 1999, is an approach to development whereby countries become the leaders and owners of their own development and poverty reduction policies. It emphasizes the interdependence of all aspects of development: social, structural, human, governance, environmental, economic, and financial. It also aims to correct the historical shortcomings of many aid programs, which were often implemented with a limited focus and with little support in the affected countries. The Comprehensive Development Framework advocates three specific approaches: n A holistic, long-term strategy with the country taking the lead, both owning and directing the development agenda, while the Bank Group and other partners each define their support in their respective business plans. n The development of stronger partnerships among governments, donors, civil society, the private sector, and other development stakeholders in implementing the country strategy. n A transparent focus on accountability for development results to ensure better practical success in reducing poverty. The Comprehensive Development Framework is not a blueprint to be applied to all countries uniformly, but a way of doing business to make development efforts more effective in a world challenged by poverty and distress. The related website is http://www.worldbank.org/cdf/.
Poverty Reduction Strategies Poverty reduction strategies represent the tangible outcomes of the approach defined by the Comprehensive Development Framework. In contrast to past approaches, which were applied to countries by donor organizations, developing countries now write their own strategies for reducing poverty (box 2.1). The resulting Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) then become the basis for International Development Association (IDA) lending from the World Bank, for comparable lending from the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility, and for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. PRSPs describe a country’s macroeconomic, structural, and social policies and programs to promote growth and reduce poverty, as well as associated external financing needs. Governments prepare PRSPs through a