The development of infrastructure-both the physical assets and corresponding services-can directly and indirectly address "gaps" between reality and desired outcomes for improved human endowments.
On the Demand Side:
• Development of well-designed transport and ICT services can encourage equal access to health services and education.
o Transport: it is documented that men and women have different travel patterns, and that women prioritize safe transport systems, more flexible transport links, and affordable fares. If a system does not meet these needs, then more barriers exist between women and health or education services-they may not feel safe, or the travel times may be too burdensome.81
o ICT: The emergence of ICT, and the use of mobile phones, can provide broader developmental impact, and they are powerful tools for increasing access to education and other social services.
| Transport's effect on Women Accessing Educational and Health Services Lack of appropriate transport and unsafe public spaces, where women risk sexual harassment and other forms for gender-based violence, make it difficult for women to move around freely. This can constrain their abilities to take advantage of educational opportunities and health services. In the Republic of Yemen, lack of mobility is cited as a major restriction on girls' ability to go to school, and one-third of women deliver babies without medical care because appropriate transportation is lacking.82 Repurposed from: Klugman et al, Voice and Agency: Empowering Girls for Shared Prosperity, World Bank, 2014. Source: Appendix A.1: Concession Agreement-Schedule 4: Part 1 |
On the Supply Side:
• Access to water and sanitation services can help reduce illnesses associated with poor drinking water, thus improving health outcomes and freeing time for educational or economic pursuits.83
• Increasing electricity access can enable the use of time-saving appliances, freeing time for men and women to take advantage of educational or study opportunities. It also promotes health benefits from cleaner air and reduced risk of burns, fires and accidents.84
• Increasing access to healthcare facilities can improve health outcomes for women, provided there is good quality of care. A study of maternal mortality and distance to hospitals in Tanzania found that a large distance to hospitals contributed to high levels of obstetric mortality.85
• Increasing access to education: can help ensure that girls, particularly from rural areas, can continue their education. A project in Mauritania that helped build "proximity" schools in areas where there were no schools helped more than double the enrollment of girls in secondary school in just a few years.86
• Embedding human endowment concerns into broader infrastructure projects
o These include benefit schemes and local area development activities, such as the benefit activities of the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project, described in Box 6.
o Projects can aim to prevent health risks such as gender-based violence; see, for example, the Vanuatu Aviation Project described in Box 11.
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81 For more discussion on gender and transport, see Mobility for All: The link between Gender and Urban Transit, Interamerican Development Bank ,2014, or Gender Toolkit: Transport, Maximizing the Benefit for Improved Mobility for All, Asian Development Bank, 2013.
82 Gender and Transport in the Middle East and North Africa Region: Case Studies from West Bank and Yemen, Report 54788-MNA, Middle East and North Africa Region Transport and Energy Unit, World Bank, 2011.
83 A well-planned World Bank Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Morocco demonstrated this. After project completion, time spent fetching water by women and girls was reduced by 50 to 90 percent. With more time and better health, female primary-school attendance in the project area increased by 21 percent (ICR Review, World Bank, Report number: ICRR11535).
84 Kohlin et al, "Energy, Gender and Development: What are the linkages? Where is the evidence?" World Bank, 2011.
85 Hanson, Claudia et al, Maternal mortality and distance to facility based obstetric care in rural southern Tanzania: a secondary analysis of cross-sectional census data in 226,000 households, Lancet Global Health, 2015.
86 For example on Mauritania, see: https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/distance-shouldnt-stand-between-girl-and-her-education