Infrastructure plays a central role in both economic development and the fulfillment of human rights. Developing transport networks, communication, water supplies, and energy have the potential to lift large population groups out of poverty and contribute to the fulfillment of human rights.
Large infrastructure projects also have inherent risks, and the World Bank¡¯s new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) aims to address these. The Umbrella can complement the ESF in these efforts. This can include supporting methods of preventing and responding to gender-based violence and violence against children in relation to large infrastructure projects, or supporting efforts to ensure access to services, including schools for children or health services for vulnerable populations.