BR Bahia DPL

closed

The program development objective of the Strengthening Fiscal Management and Promoting Better and More Inclusive Service Delivery Program Project for Brazil is to improve fiscal management and territorial planning and tailor selected public services to the needs of women, afro-descendants, and minorities. This program document provides a single-tranche stand-alone development policy loan (DPL) in the amount of United States (U.S.) 400 million dollars to the state Government of Bahia (GoBA). In the last decade, Bahia has improved its economic performance and achieved a remarkable track record in reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Nonetheless, Bahia still lags behind national averages and continues to be the state with the largest absolute number of poor and extreme poor in the country. While universal access to key public services is guaranteed by the Brazilian constitution and Bahia's state laws, a large share of the population continues to face exclusion and or discrimination in service delivery. The GoBA recognizes that social inclusion, equal treatment and fairness in service delivery, and reduction of regional disparities are critical conditions for the achievement of its development objective of speeding up and ensuring sustainable poverty reduction and shared prosperity. This DPL seeks to assist the GoBA in strengthening its fiscal management and the policy framework for territorial planning and ensuring that selected public services are more tailored to the needs of women, afro-descendants, and minorities. The policy program supported by this operation consists of 2 pillars. The first pillar supports improvements in the GoBA ability to collect taxes, enhance controls on pension expenses, and to establish an institutional framework for territorial planning. The second pillar supports actions in education, health, public security, and productive inclusion sectors aimed at ensuring equal access to public services by women, afro-descendants, and minorities and tailoring them to serve specific needs. The operation is expected to contribute positively to the World Bank Group (WBG) two strategic goals of reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity.