Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund

About the Program

The Japan Policy and Human Resources Development (PHRD) fund was the World Bank’s first programmatic trust fund, financed entirely by the Government of Japan to help boost the skills, know-how, and expertise of government institutions in developing countries so they can better address their key development challenges. The goal of PHRD is to provide developing countries with access to technical skills and global knowledge, allowing them to build human resources capacity to prepare programs and policies that promote economic growth and improve quality of life.

The PHRD fund continues to play a unique role in building the technical and institutional capacity needed to reduce poverty and grow the economies of grant-recipient developing countries. The heart of the PHRD is the effective partnership between the Government of Japan and the World Bank Group (WBG), which has yielded a collaborative approach and a strategy that allows for adaptability and flexibility as development needs change. This has enabled swift and dynamic programmatic adjustments so that PHRD remains relevant and results-focused—a tangible demonstration of Japan’s position on the world stage as the first-mover catalyst for pressing development issues.

The PHRD continues to maintain and strengthen its flexible approach to changing development challenges in agriculture and rural access to energy supply, monitoring and evaluation for better development results, Universal Health Coverage for all, and pandemic preparedness. PHRD’s outlook is consistent with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the WBG’s mission of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity on a livable planet. Going forward, the PHRD aims to promote strong, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth through these priority programs.  Since its inception to end FY23, the Government of Japan had contributed $4.7 billion to the PHRD fund in support of a portfolio of over 4,500 operations across more than 150 countries.

Structure and Governance:

The PHRD fund supports four main programs:

• The PHRD Technical Assistance Universal Health Coverage Program (UHC)
• The Japan-World Bank Partnership Program
• The Japan Staff Grant Program
• The Joint-Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP)

The PHRD Program Management and Administration Team in the World Bank’s Development Finance Vice Presidency (DFi) is responsible for the management of three of the four programs (Technical Assistance Universal Health Coverage Program, which is managed jointly with the UHC Secretariat in the Health global unit, the Japan-World Bank Partnership Program, and the Japan Staff Grant Program), as well as for overall fund management and administration, including transfers from PHRD to other trust funded programs. The Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is managed by the World Bank's Development Economic Vice Presidency (DEC).

Contribution to other World Bank Group Programs:

The PHRD fund continues to be one of the largest trust fund programs that supports innovative global and multilateral WBG-managed programs designed to respond to newly emerging development challenges and to collaborate in rapid response initiatives. PHRD’s assistance, in the form of transfers to such programs, consists of partnerships to promote participation, knowledge sharing, and resource mobilization at the global or cross-country level.

Through this platform, contributions made during FY23 amount to US$675.7 million, with the largest contributions (at or exceeding US$10 million) going to: The Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Multi-Donor Trust Fund; The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents Multi-Donor Trust Fund; The Pandemic Fund; The Japan–World Bank Program for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Developing Countries; The Nutrition Multi-Donor Trust Fund; The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program Umbrella 2.0 Multi-Donor Trust Fund; The Quality Infrastructure Investment Partnership–Single-Donor Trust Fund; and The Global Infrastructure Facility.

Last Updated: Oct 22, 2024