December 2, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The World Bank expects to finalize by early next year its new country partnership framework (CPF) that will outline programs to be supported in the Philippines for 2025 until 2028.
“We are in the process of finalizing and in the early part of 2025, we will finalize the new CPF,” World Bank country director Zafer Mustafaoglu told reporters.
In particular, he said the CPF is expected to be ready within the “first four months of 2025.”
As part of preparations for the CPF, he said the World Bank has been conducting consultations with government agencies, non-government organizations and the private sector.
The CPF will contain the objectives and programs the World Bank intends to support in the Philippines as part of the multilateral lender’s efforts to help address poverty and promote shared prosperity.
The World Bank’s priorities in the Philippines will be aligned with the AmBisyon Natin 2040 or the country’s collective long-term vision of a strongly rooted, comfortable and secure life for Filipinos.
Priorities and projects under the CPF will also be in line with the country’s overall development blueprint or the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028, which aims to create jobs and accelerate poverty reduction through higher economic growth.
Mustafaoglu said the World Bank is looking to provide loans to support projects in various sectors including education, health and agriculture in the Philippines next year.
“We have been supporting efforts in education, how to improve learning outcomes and we have been preparing some loans in this regard,” he said.
In terms of the health sector, he said the World Bank is preparing projects for increasing and improving health services in the country.
“Agriculture is a big agenda for the World Bank and we have several projects in agriculture and we are preparing one now to increase the productivity of agriculture and incomes,” he said.
He said the World Bank is also engaging in projects on social protection and poverty reduction in the country.
Under the current CPF for the Philippines, the World Bank is prioritizing support in the following areas: investing in people through health and nutrition, education and social protection; increasing competitiveness and creating jobs; and addressing core vulnerabilities by building peace and resilience, improving governance and accelerating digital transformation.
As of end-September 2024, the active portfolio of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the branch of the World Bank that supports middle-income countries, covers 19 projects in the Philippines with net commitments of $8.08 billion.
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