1 World Manga (Passage 4):Manga are Japanese-style comics or

graphic novels which have become the rage among young readers around the world. Teaming up with Viz, a leading English-language manga publisher, the Bank has launched a new series of comic books, each highlighting a key development issue. The stories follow the adventures of 15-year-old Rei who discovers that the only way to become a true warrior is to understand the challenges facing the poor and disadvantaged people he befriends along the way. Rei's humorous side-kick is a wise "spirit guide" which morphs into different animal guises as it introduces Rei to each new challenge.

In this volume, mercenaries kidnap our hero and force him to fight in an illegal army side by side with other children ripped from their homes and families. Struggling just to survive from one day to the next, will Rei be able to escape, let alone lead his fellow child soldiers safely to freedom?

The first three volumes focused on poverty, HIV/AIDS, and the environment. New volumes in the series focus on education for girls and corruption. An appendix in each book provides further information, websites, and other resources so readers can explore the themes introduced in the story.

Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Center

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AIDS in South Asia:

South Asia's HIV epidemic is highly heterogeneous. As a result, informed, prioritized, and effective responses necessitate an understanding of the epidemic diversity between and within countries. Further spread of HIV in South Asia is preventable. The future size of South Asia's epidemic will depend on an effective two-pronged approach: firstly, on the scope and effectiveness of HIV prevention programs for sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users and their sexual partners, and men having sex with men and their other sexual partners; and secondly, on the effectiveness of efforts to address the underlying socio-economic determinants of the epidemic, and to reduce stigma and discrimination towards people engaging in high risk behaviors, often marginalized in society, as well as people living with HIV and AIDS. This review was undertaken to provide a basis for rigorous, evidence-informed HIV policy and programming in South Asia.

Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Center

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Meeting the Challenges of Secondary Education in Latin America and East Asia:

In a context of increased primary school enrollment rates, secondary education is appearing as the next big challenge for Latin American and East Asian countries. This report seeks to undertake a detailed diagnostic of secondary education in these two regions, understand some of the main constraints to the expansion and improvement of secondary education, and suggest policy options to address these constraints, with focus on policies that improve the mobilization and use of resources.

Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Center

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The Role of Communication in Large Infrastructure:

Infrastructure development in the past was often implemented without adequately taking into consideration the possible negative environmental and social impacts. Drawing from the experience of the Bumbuna Hydropower project in Sierra Leone, this paper proposes to complement safeguard policies by establishing, at the beginning of the project identification phase, two-way communication mechanisms and a continuous consultation process, allowing the government and the donors to interact with key stakeholders.

Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Center

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Cooperative Financial Institutions:The paper addresses topics on which an agreement is necessary to arrive at consensus guidelines or ?principles? of regulation and supervision of cooperative financial institutions (CFIs) in developing countries. Specifically we identify those aspects related to CFI industry structure, governance, legislation and regulation over which a well established base of knowledge exists; we point out the most important gaps in understanding and those over which a considerable degree of disagreement among stakeholders appears to exist and that require research to consolidate opinions. Three main topics covered are: (i) the fundamental structure of the sector in terms of its internal (micro) and inter-CFI (macro) organization, with focus on the agency conflicts inherent in the mutual structure, the extent to which they contribute to failure risk, and to whether and how these conflicts are controlled by existing governance mechanisms; (ii) the existing legal frameworks in an international context, their origins and the implications for the functioning of CFIs; and (iii) the regulatory frameworks under which CFIs operate and the different propositions by stakeholders about what should be an appropriate regulatory framework and an effective supervision mechanism. Now available at

the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, Kathmandu

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Can Good Economics Ever Be Good Politics?In recent years, the power sector in several developing countries has suffered from a frustrating gap between strong, pro-reform rhetoric at the political level, and weak, hesitant implementation of the reform measures on the ground. Focusing on the recent experience of power sector reform in India, this paper looks afresh at the problem of the ?rhetoric-implementation gap? by taking the lack of political will as its starting point, and identifying the ingredients that comprise it in the current context of India. Assuming that people and institutions are not impartial but instead respond to political and economic incentives, it explains how the lack of political will often reflects rational political behavior. Using this more realistic framework, it examines the incentives, informal relationships, and interests that govern the behavior of people and institutions, and searches for the openings and opportunities that reformers must pursue.

Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Center

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International Financial Reporting Standards:Now in its fourth edition, and with translations into 13 languages, this publication gives readers a broad and basic understanding of the key issues for each International Financial Reporting Standard. It summarizes each standard, providing a quick reference for managers and executives in the private and public sectors who may not have a strong background in accounting. All of the standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) through 31 May 2006 are included in this book.

Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Center

Heritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:

E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731

Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm