WASHINGTON, November 29, 2022 - The World Bank Group today endorsed a new Country Partnership Framework with Chad, the Country Engagement Note (CEN), to support the country's second Five-Year Development Plan. The CEN will be implemented during the 2023-2024 period. This new partnership framework was developed in close collaboration with the Chadian authorities, and was based on extensive consultations with the government, civil society, the private sector, and development partners.
The Engagement Note aims to improve relations between the State and its citizens and to enhance governance and transparency in the management of the country's fiscal debt, with a view to providing public resources that could be earmarked for reducing regional disparities and combating exclusion. It also seeks to increase inclusive access to basic services and infrastructure, while ensuring that border and peripheral areas and conflict-affected zones are effectively targeted. Lastly, the CEN focuses on the management of natural resources and sustainable agriculture to prevent and address the drivers of fragility in the country, including conflicts associated with scarce natural resources and the multiple challenges of climate change.
"The Engagement Note is designed to ensure that the World Bank Group remains engaged throughout this phase of the country's transition, while preparing the necessary reforms for the future Country Partnership Framework. In view of the evolving political situation in Chad and the country's emerging priorities, it is essential that ongoing dialogue be maintained with the government, development partners, and other stakeholders to enhance the well-being of the ultimate beneficiaries," noted Clara De Souza, World Bank Country Director for Chad.
These topics draw on the World Bank's comparative advantage in addressing the main constraints to poverty reduction, as outlined in the Systematic Country Diagnostic. They are also closely aligned with the objectives outlined by the government in its Five-Year Development Plan (2022-2027) to improve governance, increase productive capacity, develop human capital, and combat inequality.
Rasit Pertev, World Bank Country Manager for Chad, observed: "The CEN focuses on the adoption of short-term actions that can help advance the medium- and long-term efforts of the government to tackle the multiple drivers of fragility in the country. The World Bank also confirms its support for the government's conflict-prevention and resilience action plan, in the context of the Prevention and Resilience Allocation (PRA)."
