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Annex 2.1 Page4of 5

13.    In Burkina Faso, the Devolution Unit has worked closely with the Government

and the Bank in finalizing the devo!ution plan which has become an important component of a major Bank-supported national health project. This component is being implemented with fuli financing by the Bank, and the prospects appear good that its conception and implementation will serve as a model for supporting devotution in the other ten beneficiary ccuntries. At the Geneva JPC the Bank stated its willingness to consider financing other devolution plans through on-going or new Bank-supported health projects.

14.    Along with the health benefits of controlling riverblindness, one of the important

justifications of the Program has been the substantial econoinic benefits of opening up new areas for settlement and productive agriculture. There is increasingly elear evidence that the socioeconomic benefits of riverblindness contro! are being realized. Recently available data show that cereal crop production in the Sahelian countries has inereased morę quickly in the past decsde than in either of the two preceding decades. Much of this inerease in production appears to be due to expansion of the areas under crop production and most of this expansion has occurred in the riverblindness-controlled zones. These inereases in settlement and production have led to concerns about the environmental impact on the riverblindness freed areas. Fortunately, the Program, with its independent ecological committee and its hydrobiological monitoring network, has been a model of combining development objectives with safeguards for the environment. And the Program's environmental monitoring capacities are being utilized to address settlement-related activities.

15.    The Program's Committee of Sponsoring Agencies (CSA), which is chaired by the Bank, has also responded to the concerns of the beneficiary countries and donors by developing a program to support socioeconomic development activities in the Program area. To datę the CSA has financed and executed, among other activities, two regional studies-one a natural resource inventory and the other a study of settlement experience of the riverblindness-controlled areas. Both of these studies highlighted the interconnection between development and the environment. Building on these studies, the CSA presented a follow-up program to the Geneva JPC, consisting of an emńronmental impact assessment of newly settled areas and the organization of a ministerial conference on sustainable settlement of the riverblindness areas to take place in 1994. Both were strongly endorsed at the Geneva meeting. The Geneva JPC concluded that addressing the issues surrounding the promotion of sustainable settlement through concrete actions at a policy level is a very high priority if the socioeconomic development potential of the riverblindness-freed areas is to be fully realized.

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16.    The success of the Program in eliminating riverblindness as a major public health problem in much of West Affica is now in sight. The basie elements, including an effective control strategy, steadfast donor support, close regional cooperation, and efficient management, are in place to bring the Program to a successful and lasting conclusion within this decade. The only major risk at this stage appears to be the possibility of becoming overly complacent given the Program's success. It is crucial that the donor community, sponsoring agencies, and beneficiary countries actively pursue this Program through to the end. Otherwise, there is a possibility of eventually experiencing a resurgence of the disease and a return to the once tragic conditions of the pre-program era—an unfortunate development which has occurred with sonie other major disease control programs due to a premature relaxation of control efforts. We see it as an important responsibUity of the Bank, as leading sponsor of this endeavor, to continue its efforts to