In pursuit of its objective to strengthen the public sector capacity in sub-Saharan Africa, the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) launched in 1998, together with the World Bank, the Economic Policy Management Program (EPM) in four African universities. The Economic Policy Management Program (EPM) was set up in 1994 as a response to Africa’s needs for skilled experts in economic policy research and analysis that could provide informed opinion to policy makers on various macroeconomic stabilization measures, development management issues and poverty reduction. Two EPM programs were initially established at universities in Canada and France and in 1998 the programs were transferred to four Africa Partner Universities (APUs) in Ghana, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon. The African Building Capacity Foundation (ACBF) in partnership with the World Bank Institute has been the main sponsor of the Economic Policy Management program in Africa.
At its 37th Regular Meeting, in May 2007, the Executive Board approved a grant of US$ 2 million to EPM-Zambia for the eastern and southern region of the continent.
The overall goal of the EPM program is to improve the efficiency of the public sector in sub-Saharan African countries through the enhancement of capacity for economic policy analysis and management.
