Uganda aquaculture value chains: strategic planning mission: summary report

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a strategic planning mission to reevaluate the feasibility of WorldFish implementing a fish value chain research program in Uganda under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish (L&F). The over-arching goal of L&F is to increase productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems so as to increase availability and affordability of meat, milk and fish for poor consumers and, in doing so, to reduce poverty through greater participation by the poor along animal source food value chains. This will be achieved by making a small number of carefully selected animal source food value chains function better, for example by identifying and addressing key constraints and opportunities (from production to consumption), improving institutional arrangements and capacities, and supporting the establishment of enabling pro-poor policy and institutional environments

WorldFish Center strategy update 2005

WorldFish Center, Strategic planning, Research programmes, Performance assessment

Middle East water conflicts and directions for conflict resolution:

In looking toward 2020, one of the most severe problems to be faced is an impending shortage of adequate supplies of fresh water essential for drinking and for growing crops. The Middle East, where a few waterways serve large areas of land belonging to a number of nations, is the place where strife over water is most likely to erupt. This paper examines the past how water in the Middle East came to be divided as it is today and looks at possible solutions for alleviating a water crisis and the resulting political tensions.Water resources development Middle East., Water-supply Middle East Management.,

Expensive classrooms, poor learning: The imperatives of reforming school construction in Egypt

Egyptian schools suffer from systematic deficiencies that affect student learning, attendance, health, and dignity. These include a discrepancy between needs and actual construction projects, very poor maintenance, and massive school shortages leading to high density, overcrowding, and multiple-shift schools. Egypt’s average classroom density of 47.5 students/classroom in the primary stage is higher than the average in countries such as India and China. More than 75% of Egyptian students are in classrooms that have over 40 students. Such high classroom densities have a strongly negative impact on learning, especially at the critical primary stage. Not only does Egypt’s high average classroom density obscure large variations across the country, it also hides the problem of multiple-shift schools, where more than one school population uses the same facilities. Only one third of Egyptian public school students attend single-shift schools: the remaining 12.7 million children (of whom 7 million are in the primary stage) have to cope with overcrowded classrooms. They also have a smaller window of learning time and are often deprived of classes considered less essential like arts, music, and physical education. These conditions directly contribute to poor learning and student dropout, as well as seriously undermining equality within the system. These inadequate learning conditions, compounded by sanitary and maintenance problems, disproportionately affect those students who are already disadvantaged. Official estimates point to the need to construct 250,000 new classrooms at a cost of 130 billion Egyptian pounds (EGP) ($7.3 billion).1 This massive construction campaign must be guided by a restructuring of Egypt’s current school construction system under new parameters that will ensure better quality, lower costs, and less resource waste. School shortages and high construction costs are driven by the way in which the system is designed and managed; restrictive and unnecessary requirements increase construction costs while undermining the allocation of land for schools. Highly centralized procurement procedures contribute to high costs, resource waste, and allegations of corruption plague almost every step of the school construction process. Whereas some aspects of school construction in Egypt may be unique, many of the problems associated with the system are shared by other countries. Drawing on both the local context and relevant international data, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of this under-researched topic, suggests alternative indicators that should be used to better enhance school construction efforts, and puts forward six key policy recommendations for reforming school construction. The recommendations are all part of a necessary restructuring of the regime of school construction and the main entity responsible for it, the General Authority for Educational Buildings (GAEB)

Investing in a More Robust Public Policy Environment in the Middle East

Outlines considerations for funders with respect to the development of human capital and strengthening civil society organizations, including the need for long-term, targeted, and sustained investment as well as funder restraint

Deepening Egypt-US Trade Integration: Economic Implications of Alternative Options

Free trade agreements, Egypt, U.S. trade policy, Arab League

Uganda aquaculture value chains: strategic planning mission report

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a strategic planning mission to reevaluate the feasibility of WorldFish implementing a fish value chain research program in Uganda under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish (L&F). The over-arching goal of L&F is to increase productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems so as to increase availability and affordability of meat, milk and fish for poor consumers and, in doing so, to reduce poverty through greater participation by the poor along animal source food value chains. This will be achieved by making a small number of carefully selected animal source food value chains function better, for example by identifying and addressing key constraints and opportunities (from production to consumption), improving institutional arrangements and capacities, and supporting the establishment of enabling pro-poor policy and institutional environments