This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.
The World Bank says the poor quality of public services indeveloping countries is hurting world economic growth. This findingis based on a year of study of successes and failures involvingservices in different countries.
The World Bank says betterservices would reduce the divide between rich and poor people. Thismeans better health care, education, electricity, water and wastetreatment services.
The main message of the World Bank report is “Making ServicesWork for the Poor.” The report proposes three steps to improvepublic services.
First is the suggestion that poor people be given more choice andinvolvement in the services provided. The report says poor peopleshould be empowered to demand better services by putting pressure onelected politicians.
And the report calls for a system to reward or punish serviceproviders. The World Bank says that through this system, serviceproviders would have to answer to the government and to the public.
The report was released last week before the yearly meeting ofthe World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Officials from morethan one-hundred-eighty nations gathered in Dubai. The delegatesdiscussed a number of issues during the two-day meeting.
These included efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals.One goal is to cut world poverty in half by two-thousand-fifteen.That is the same goal for the number of people who cannot read orwrite.
In addition to improving services, many people believe animportant way to help developing nations is to increase trade withricher ones. Two years ago, in Doha, Qatar, the World TradeOrganization agreed to begin a new series of negotiations to reducetrade barriers. Member nations agreed to work for completion bytwo-thousand-five.
The latest talks, however, ended in disagreement earlier thismonth in Cancun, Mexico. Delegates argued over aid to farmers inwealthy countries.
Some delegates walked out of the meetings. They said wealthycounties were not making enough compromises to help poor nations.They say development problems in the poorest countries are likely tocontinue until the issue of trade barriers is solved. A high-levelWTO meeting is planned in Geneva by December fifteenth.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss. I’m Robert Cohen.