Fragility and Engagement Division to lead renewed efforts to overcome specific country challenges with tailored approaches

Dear colleagues,

The FCAS and SIDS Bulletin has a new look, designed to reflect its home in the Fragility and Engagement Division. Established under the New Operating Model, the division better integrates all the work being done to improve development outcomes in ADB's most vulnerable DMCs, especially small island developing states, through the development of tailored approaches that are specific to the country and conditions in which we are operating.

The division is home to the FCAS and SIDS team alongside the NGO and Civil Society Center, which continues its broad outreach and collaboration efforts. Our two teams are looking for new ways of working together.

The headline news for this month's Bulletin is the recent launch of the microsite for the FCAS and SIDS Approach 2022 Annual Report: Cultivating a Differentiated Approach in Fragile Contexts. The report highlights ADB’s accomplishments and priorities in FCAS-classified DMCs and SIDS, and features a special chapter on forced displacement as a driver of fragility in Asia and the Pacific and options to address this issue. Visit the site to read the report.

An event series that has no formal name, but we are informally describing as “in-country briefings ,” had its first stop in Papua New Guinea in June. These in-country briefings aim to introduce the FCAS and SIDS Approach (FSA) to our DMCs, including the key concepts and priorities of the FSA and its objectives in relation to improving ADB’s operations in FCAS and SIDS.

The visit to Papua New Guinea saw members of the FCAS and SIDS team meet and engage in dialogue with government counterparts about fragility and the specific challenges faced by the country. The ADB mission team also shared knowledge with RM staff, especially on how the FSA is changing operations and processes.

We were especially pleased to present the PNRM staff with the fully operational FCAS and SIDS Portfolio Data Visualization tool, which went live a few weeks ago. This website takes ADB’s portfolio databases and presents the information in an easy-to-navigate and visually appealing manner. The site can be accessed through the Quick Links on MyADB or directly through: https://dataviz.adb.org/

The FCAS and SIDS team continues to support the Peer Learning Network, which offers a space for ADB staff working in FCAS and SIDS or interested in these topics to speak on their experiences. Our two most recent speakers were Senior Financial Management Specialist Tahmeen Ahmad in May, and Senior Safeguards Specialist Michelle Dooley in June. Recordings of their talks can be found on the community site.

The FCAS and SIDS Bulletin is a bimonthly bulletin of recent activities and news. For any comments or questions, please contact the editorial team directly.

Sincerely,

Samuel Tumiwa, Director, Fragility and Engagement

New Publications

View the FCAS and SIDS Approach Annual Report 2022 on the dedicated microsite

Knowledge Products

A few words on the drivers of fragility

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View more on Instagram

FCAS and SIDS Portfolio Data Visualization tool is online

The Portfolia Data Visualization tool equips users with important information to track trends, plot projections, and make informed analyses on fragile and vulnerable countries.

Through the website , users can access information on portfolio distribution, project performance ratings, contract awards, disbursements, completed products, and indicative pipelines in a visually pleasing and easy-to-navigate application. The site uses portfolio data from PFPM and PSOD on FCAS-classified DMCs and SIDS from 2015. The FCAS and SIDS team will offer classes on how to fully utilize the site’s many features soon.

Recent Activities

Peer Learning Network hosts experts from financial management and safeguards

• In May, the FCAS and SIDS Peer Learning Network hosted Senior Financial Management Specialist Tahmeen Ahmad, who shared her experiences promoting best practices and sound financial management in fragile countries and explained how she navigated challenges, including limited local capacity.

• In June the network hosted Senior Safeguards Specialist Michelle Dooley, who spoke on her experiences dealing with land use and acquisition issues on projects in the Pacific region. She related that with the many complex issues surrounding land, ADB needed to work smarter and put in place consistent systems and approaches that emphasize sustainability and respond to cultural aspects.

• Watch the recordings from both sessions on the Community Site: FCAS & SIDS Peer Learning Network

Sustaining Access to Education in Afghanistan

On May 31, the FCAS team, CWRD, and the Education SG, hosted a webinar with speakers from UNICEF who are implementing the “Access to Primary and Secondary Education Sustained” component of ADB's "Support for the Afghan People" novel financing approach.

Despite immense challenges, including a nationwide ban on secondary schooling for girls, this partnership has been able to provide access to education to hundreds of thousands of children through community-based classes. Due to the need to continue providing essential services to the Afghan people, UNICEF and ADB both reconfirmed their long-term commitment to supporting education in Afghanistan for all children, especially girls.

View the recordings and presentations on the community site.

Women's empowerment and livelihoods - Voices from Afghanistan

On July 26, the FCAS team, with CWRD, led by DG Zhukov, hosted a webinar with speakers from UN Women, FAO and the WFP to discuss women’s empowerment and rural livelihoods in Afghanistan. Women’s mobility and livelihood opportunities have been massively inhibited by the de-facto government.

Despite the confines, the presenters shared on women’s courage and enterprise in agriculture, especially livestock farming. ADB is supporting various initiatives through FAO and WFP to sustain essential services, especially for women and girls in rural livelihoods and food security. The webinar included livestream interviews with women from the field who shared their perspectives.

Watch the recording.