WB SUPPORTS SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY IN ARMENIA

States News Service
February 25, 2010 Thursday

The following information was released by the World Bank:

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$5
million loan for the Additional Financing for the Armenia Social
Protection Administration Project (SPAP). The Additional Financing
will expand activities under the ongoing SPAP to further improve the
delivery of social protection and employment services by strengthening
institutions and better targeting social safety net programs.

The Project will target job seekers, including youth choosing
a career path and the rural unemployed, as well as poor and
vulnerable households, current and future pensioners, and people
with disabilities.

The Additional Financing supports several activities that are essential
for further improvement and maintenance of the efficiency of the
social service delivery system, including:

– rehabilitation of the regional social service offices;

– development and widespread use of management information system
and network of information flows;

– introduction of reporting and record-keeping in support of Armenia’s
pension reform program;

– overcoming the institutional and reform bottlenecks for rural
employment;

– improving the targeting, coverage and administration of the social
safety net programs; and

– integration of social services for efficient and coordinated
delivery.

"The implementation of the social reform program requires strong
administrative capacities both at central and local levels," said
Asad Alam, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus. "With
severely constrained fiscal resources, aggravated by the current global
economic crisis, the Government has to continue pursuing a strategy
aimed at increasing the efficiency of use of program resources and,
in that way, expand the scope for increasing benefit levels and ensure
that the most needy individuals and households are protected."

"While the urgent challenge for the Armenian authorities is to mitigate
the economic and social impacts of the current economic crisis, the
measures supported by the Project will lay the foundations for an
effective post-crisis social protection system that provides vital and
sustainable protection to the poor and the most vulnerable groups,"
added Lire Ersado, head of the World Bank team designing the project.

The IBRD Flexible loan has a maturity of 25 years and a grace period
of 10 years included.

Since joining the World Bank in 1992 and IDA in 1993, the commitments
to Armenia total approximately US$ 1.3 billion.

For more information on the World Bank’s activities in Armenia,
please visit: