WASHINGTON: The World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, cited the example of a pregnant woman in south India using technology to send feedback in real-time to argue the case of citizen’s engagement in development.
The president mentioned the woman using a smart card in her cell phone to provide real-time feedback on the health services she receives, in the state of Karnataka, to make his point.
Arguing that the World Bank firmly believes in the role of partnership in tackling development challenges and promoting good governance, Jim asserted that listening to citizens is central to doing development better.
“A pregnant woman in Karnataka, India can now use a smart card in her cell phone to provide real-time feedback on the health services she receives, including information on any problems that might have arisen,” the Bank president said in his inaugural address to Global Conference On Citizen Engagement For Enhanced Development Results.
“Using this data, officials can track the delivery of services across the district and respond far quicker to urgent needs and supply constraints than ever before,” he said.
Recent innovations in information technology and the rapid penetration of mobile technology and social media in the developing world provide vast new opportunities for connecting governments and development practitioners with citizens, he added.
And in Nepal, the poor today have much greater voice in determining the public services they receive, he said adding that by combining national poverty data with participatory social assessment tools, the poorest communities in Nepal can be identified and empowered.
Community members voice their concerns and needs, enabling decision makers to target more systematically where needed infrastructure should go, to determine which services a local health clinic should provide, and to report how many children are attending schools.
As a result, school enrollment has increased by an average of 2.1 per cent, child immunizations by 5.3 per cent and access to safe drinking water by six per cent in more than 59 districts covered by the program, he said.
Observing that citizen engagement in development has a long and rich history, Jim said the World Bank wants to build on this history and create more systematic opportunities for citizen voice.
Even as the World Bank, he said has taken steps like its landmark Access to Information policy and creating the Global Partnership for Social Accountability, Jim said there is much more to do.
“A recent survey of Bank staff revealed pent-up demand for real-time data from citizens, the beneficiaries of Bank-financed projects,” he said.
“We are now at the early stages of working closely with governments to systematically integrate beneficiary feedback into Bank-financed operations and sector work. -PTI
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