WB approves $479 M loan for Phl

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The World Bank said today that it has approved a loan of $479 million to fund community-level projects particularly in central Philippines devastated by super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) last November.

The Washington-based lender said in a statement that the amount will be used to scale up to national coverage the project known as Kalahi-CIDSS or Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services.

Now called the National Community-Driven Development Project (NCDDP), this scaled up version of the Kalahi-CIDSS will provide investment grants to the poorest municipalities throughout the country, as well as eligible communities affected by super typhoon Haiyan.

NCDDP is expected to benefit 8 million more Filipinos living in poor communities.

"Expanding (the project) will significantly boost our efforts to alleviate rural poverty while responding to the needs of Haiyan survivors," said Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon J. Soliman.

The Philippine government also said the loan will contribute to the $8 billion needed for the Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda Plan.

World Bank Country Director for the Philippines Motoo Konishi said programs that apply community-driven development (CDD) approaches have good track records in terms of contributing to improving the lives of the poor in the Philippines.

Using CDD, poor communities organize themselves, analyze their own situation, prepare project proposals to address their common problems, and compete for grants to finance their own projects such as water systems, school buildings, day care centers, health stations, roads and bridges.

Since 2002, Kalahi-CIDSS has financed close to 6,000 local projects worth $265 million benefiting over 1.6 million households in the poorest municipalities and provinces in the Philippines.