The aim of this report is to provide a broad overview of the current state of gender equality in Tajikistan. While the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region traditionally surpassed many other regions in terms of gender equality, this advantage has been eroding in recent decades. Particularly in...

Production and export diversification expose firms to domestic and international competition, which enhances productivity and ultimately drives a country's structural transformation from agriculture to industry to services. This structural transformation is accompanied by a spatial...

The Tajik government in its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for 2010-12 set an ambitious target of doubling Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a decade. Tajikistan clearly has the potential to grow at more than seven percent a year as it has done in the recent past, but it is not going to be easy....

During the food, fuel, and financial crises of 2008 and 2009, the Government and donors found themselves without an effective mechanism for channeling assistance to the poor. In 2009, the Government of Tajikistan asked the World Bank to support improvement of its system of social assistance. The...

The Government of Tajikistan has identified improving maternal and child health (MCH) as key priorities in its new Health Sector Strategy for 2010-2020. The Government recognizes that improving MCH outcomes is critical to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for maternal and child...

The Government of Tajikistan has identified Primary Heath Care (PHC), and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) as top priorities in its first Comprehensive National Health Sector Strategy (2010-2020). The study findings which closely mirror those of the 2009 World Health Organization (WHO)/United...

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of introducing Results-Based Financing (RBF) in Tajikistan's health sector. Several countries have experience with RBF in low-income settings, and lessons learned can be interesting for Tajikistan. Technically, RBF is a retrospective...

Financial intermediation in Tajikistan has deepened in recent years, albeit from a low base. This is reflected in the overall growth of the financial system, greater diversification, and the expansion of lending to previously under-served sectors, such as agriculture and small- and medium-sized...

Despite Tajikistan's sustained economic growth of the past few years and the country's notable achievements, poverty and low standards of living remain a pressing problem for the majority of Tajik people. Poverty reduction is therefore one of the priority goals of the Government of the Republic...

This report, Second Programmatic Public Expenditure Review (PPER 2), is a sequel to PPER, which was published in July 2007. PPER 2 provides a detailed analysis of key public expenditure issues in Tajikistan and reports on the nonlending policy dialogue and technical assistance programs managed...