World Bank [to 2 July 2016]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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June 30, 2016
New World Bank Procurement Framework Promotes Strengthened National Procurement Systems
Flexible approach will help countries make the best use of public spending
The World Bank’s new Procurement Framework becomes effective tomorrow, July 1, 2016. Aimed at helping countries make the best use of their public spending, the new Framework will enhance the strategic role of procurement in development effectiveness.

“The new Procurement Framework reflects the views, knowledge, and expertise of a wide range of stakeholders from across the globe. The Bank can now offer a more modern and nimble procurement system to help promote sustainable development,” said Hart Schafer, World Bank Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services.

The new Procurement Framework will allow the World Bank to better respond to the needs of client countries, while preserving robust procurement standards throughout Bank-supported projects. It provides an expanded range of procurement tools to enable a better fit for varying country contexts and client needs.

“With this modernization of the procurement system, the Bank looks forward to working together with its partner countries to strengthen efficiency in public spending and to strengthen procurement systems around the world. This will help assure that public resources are being well used, and countries can better deliver critical services such as education, health, and infrastructure” says Deborah Wetzel, Senior Director of the Governance Global Practice…

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WB/Argentina: Child Allowance Set to Reach an Additional 1.5 Million Children and Youth
WASHINGTON D.C., June 30, 2016 – The World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors approved a US$600 million loan today to support the Argentine government’s expansion of its Universal Child Allowance Program (AUH, in Spanish) to include 1.5 million children and youth up to 18 years of age who, despite being eligible, are currently excluded.

“We are proud to resume and strengthen the Social Development Ministry’s ties with international organizations so that we can deploy social protection networks that will help us achieve our goal of zero poverty and make them sustainable over time. Investing in childhood is a global priority, and by way of this joint project we will be taking a crucial step towards making sure that all Argentine children have the same opportunity to grow and develop healthily, happily and accompanied by a State that takes care of them, becoming a bridge towards their inclusion,” said Carolina Stanley, Minister for Social Development, the executing agency for the project alongside the National Social Security Administration (ANSES).

The AUH program was launched in 2009 and is part of a broader family allowance system implemented by ANSES, which the World Bank has supported in recent years. Thanks to this benefit, parents of children under 18 who are unemployed or earn less than a minimum salary at an informal job receive a monthly payment equivalent to 80 percent of the full benefit. The remaining 20 percent is accumulated and paid once every year following a certification of the child’s school attendance and fulfilment of medical checkups, including completion of a vaccination calendar. Currently, 3.7 million children from over two million families benefit from the AUH…