Sudan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Joint Staff Advisory Note

This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) reviews the Sudan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for the period 2021–2023. The PRSP was prepared by the Government of Sudan, drawing on lessons learned from the implementation of the 2012 interim poverty reduction strategy paper (I-PRSP).1 The PRSP was approved by the Council of Ministers on May 11, 2021. The government submitted the PRSP to IDA and the IMF on May 12, 2021 to fulfill the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative’s poverty reduction strategy requirement.

This Joint Staff Advisory Note focuses on the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) for Sudan. I-PRSP provides a useful stock taking of the socioeconomic situation in Sudan and offers a good basis for the design and monitoring of growth and poverty reduction policies. It is the first comprehensive policy document that assesses the challenges of and opportunities for poverty reduction. This strategy lays out a clear policy approach for the Government of Sudan to accelerate poverty reduction and provides a foundation for a roadmap to a full PRSP, but timelines and concrete next steps need to be urgently defined.

Implementation of Chad’s first National Poverty Reduction Strategy was undermined by persistent internal conflict, weak governance, and lack of commitment to and ownership of economic and social reforms. The focus now is on the restoration of security, the improvement of governance, the diversification of the economy, and the promotion of human development. The government has to be mindful of the risks to this strategy. Executive Directors propose that the government should shift away from past patterns and demonstrate commitment to poverty reduction and good governance.

The joint staff Advisory Note on Senegal’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper reviews policies and strategies required to push forward the authority’s agenda for high, sustained, and inclusive growth and poverty reduction. The private sector is recognized as the main engine of growth in the Senegalese economy. The strategy is clearly focused on improving the investment climate, fostering entrepreneurship, and facilitating access to financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises, and consolidating support institutions. Senegal’s water and sanitation sector is one of the most developed in sub-Saharan Africa. The urban water Millennium Development Goal has been achieved, with access for 98 percent of the urban population, and the goal for rural water access is within reach.

This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) reviews the mid-term review report(MTR) of Somalia’s Ninth National Development Plan (NDP9).1 NDP9 is a nationallyowned and comprehensive strategy for poverty reduction and inclusive growth. It covers2020–2024 and is organized around the four pillars: Inclusive Politics, Security and theRule of Law, Economic Development, and Social Development. NDP9 was submitted tothe IMF and World Bank on October 15, 2019, to fulfill the Enhanced Heavily IndebtedPoor Countries (HIPC) Initiative’s poverty reduction strategy requirement. The firstAnnual Progress Report (APR) was received by the World Bank and the IMF in June 2022,and a JSAN was prepared and submitted to the Boards in July 2023. The MTR tracksprogress of the first 30 months of NDP9 implementation and serves as APR for 2021 and2022. The MTR also identifies the gaps, challenges, and lessons learned, and makespractical recommendations for improvement in the implementation of NDP9’s finalphase from 2023 to 2024.

The Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Preparation Status Report (PSR) on Burundi explains progress in developing the full PRSP as set out in the PSR. The PSR describes the actions that have been taken, or are under way, with the support of technical assistance, to improve the information base on the prevalence, characteristics, and perceptions of poverty in Burundi. The PSR also describes the considerable progress that has been achieved in improving the government’s capacity to monitor and evaluate public social expenditures and other poverty-reducing outlays.

This Joint Staff Advisory Note provides World Bank and IMF staff analysis, and advices on key priorities to be strengthened during the implementation of the second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP-2) in Mauritania. The PRSP-2 conveys an ambitious poverty reduction strategy based on a set of sound macroeconomic, structural, and sectoral policies to be implemented by 2015. The achievement of the PRSP-2 objectives will be difficult and will require a better prioritization in the context of absorptive capacity constraints and increasing and highly volatile public resources.

The Joint Staff Advisory Note gives positive feedback on the elaborations made in Burundi’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Report (PRSR-II), and commends the measures taken to eliminate the implementation weaknesses and pitfalls of PRSR-I. The note puts forth guidelines to be followed by the government in implementation of the strategies for achieving the desired results, and emphasizes the need for ensuring a broad social consensus. The Executive Board also emphasizes the need for prioritizing the areas for further development.