世界银行-刚果民主共和国：国家方案评估（方法文件）（英）

1 Approach Paper Democratic Republic of Congo: Country Program Evaluation July 2, 2025 1. Background and Context Purpose 1.1 This Country Program Evaluation (CPE) will assess the performance of the World Bank Group’s assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between FY 2013 and FY24. It spans three periods: (i) the FY13–17 Country Assistance Strategy, (ii) the period from FY18 to FY21 during which the Bank Group operated without a strategy, and (iii) the FY22–26 Country Partnership Framework (CPF). The evaluation seeks to identify lessons to inform future Bank Group engagements in the DRC, including the next CPF, which is due to be approved in 2026. The audience is the Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors, Bank Group management and staff working on the DRC program, the government of the DRC, and other in-country stakeholders. Its findings and lessons may also be relevant for Bank Group engagements with other resource-rich countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). Country Context 1.2 The DRC is richly endowed with natural resources. The country has large mineral deposits, including copper, cobalt, cassiterite, and coltan, which are essential for electronics and battery manufacturers. It also possesses some of the world’s biggest diamond and gold reserves. The Congo Basin is Africa’s most extensive forest and the second largest carbon sink in the world. The DRC has significant agricultural potential, with 51 million hectares of unexploited cultivable land (World Bank 2023b). In addition, the DRC has a hydropower potential estimated at 100 gigawatts, mainly from the Inga Dam site on the Congo River. It represents a substantial underused energy resource that could deliver electricity to neighboring countries, yet currently only 2.5 percent is exploited (World Bank 2022b). 1.3 Despite its vast natural resources, the DRC remains among the poorest countries in the world. The number of Congolese living on less than US$2.15 (2017 purchasing power parity) a day increased from 51 million in 2012 to 57.8 million in 2020 (World Bank 2025b). The DRC’s Human Capital Index stood at 0.37 in 2020, the 11th lowest in the region. The DRC is home to one-tenth of people worldwide without access to electricity, with the number of people without access increasing from 60.1 million in 2013 to 70.2 million in 2020 (World Bank 2025b). Only 14 percent of the population has Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure Authorized2 access to improved sanitation (World Bank 2022b). Indicators of human development are similarly dire. The incidence of stunted growth of children has increased from 42.7 percent of under 5-year-olds in 2013 to 44.7 percent in 2023, the 10th highest number globally, putting these children at risk of lifelong cognitive and physical disability (World Bank 2025b). An estimated 97 percent of 10-year-olds are unable to read or understand simple text (World Bank