The World Bank Board of Executive Directors on Thursday approved a USD10 million International Development Agency grant for the First Community Living Standards.

The grant will support the Government of Rwanda’s social protection and community health policy reforms designed to reduce extreme poverty and improve community health.

In particular, the social protection policy reforms will support  implementation  of the Vision 2020 Umurenge Program (VUP) initiative in 30  pilot  sectors  while  the  community  health policy interventions will help Government  to  expand  access  to  high-impact health, nutrition and population interventions  at  the  community  level.  

The VUP is part of the Governments multisectoral 5-year Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS).

"CLSG-1 comes timely. It will strongly contribute to the alleviation of extreme poverty amongst  Rwandans  in  line  with  the EDPRS target of reducing extreme poverty  from  37%  to  24%  over a period of five years,” said Alex Kamurase, of the World Bank’s Task Team.

CLSG-1 is Community Living Standards Grant-1.

Kamurase added that the grant will enhance support for development and implementations of policies which will ensure maximum benefit by the poor from the poverty reduction programs.

According to a press statement from World Bank, an additional USD 4 million is being provided by the Government of Norway through the Health Results Innovation Trust Fund which is designed to support pilot programs in results-based financing of health Services.

The project will be implemented by the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), Local Government (MINALOC) and Health (MINISANTE).

The grant is also expected to help Rwanda to integrate international good practice in its poverty reduction policies under the EDPRS flagship, VUP.

These policies target extremely poor landless households in which all adult members either lack the capacity to work or the opportunity to do so. 

One of the principal benefits of the operation will include improving government’s  poverty  reduction  strategy  through a policy framework that ensures international good practice policies are applied to the provision of  public  works  employment,  social  assistance,  and  health and nutritional support to the poorest households.

The operation will support reforms designed to raise living standards via efficient,  effective,  and  equitable  resource  transfers  to  communities and extremely   poor  households  to  meet  current  needs  and  foster  sustainable livelihoods.

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