Globally, over 90% of children complete primary school and over 70% complete lower secondary school. However, completion rates are much lower in low-income countries, and large gaps remain between boys and girls.
You can find more data on education at our new beta open data site and also access the data from the chart above.
In 1997, Peter Singer wrote about a dilemma he’d pose to his students about a drowning child in a pond on their way to class: “would they be willing to save the child at the cost of getting all wet, having to go back home to change, and missing the first period?” After getting the expected answer that they all would, he’d ask about a hypothetical child far away, and ways that the students could save lives elsewhere at “no great cost – and absolutely no danger – to themselves. This would lead to a discussion of a version of effective altruism two decades ago.
Back in 2012, the news of Kenya’s oil discovery spread fast. Stock markets roared, politicians gushed and the Twitterati tweeted. Fast forward to today: with $70 off oil prices and at least another four to five years to go until the first commercial production, one cannot help but ask, has Kenyan oil been overrated?
With a tip of the hat to Clint Eastwood, the prospects for Kenya’s oil wealth can be characterised as the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Finance ministers, auditors-general, and leaders of professional accounting organizations are meeting Tuesday in Nassau to discuss a topic that is often hidden from view, but is critical to quality of life in the Caribbean: Capacity and standards in public financial management.
How governments manage taxes, borrowing and spending is essential to economic growth, to poverty-reduction, and to ensuring that the region’s poorest can improve their lives. It is a core function of accountability in government. Improvements in this area could increase the health of small and medium-sized enterprises, create jobs, and bring in additional government revenues to spend on essential public services. Residents of Caribbean nations: this strategic dialogue will be about how the government manages your money.
The path to ending poverty is strewn with familiar obstacles: poor sanitation, gender inequality, lack of financial access. You’ve heard of them all. But solutions often come from the most unexpected things.
Take toilets and drones, for example.
In India, poor sanitation causes 1 out of 10 deaths a year. The solution? Encouraging every home to have a toilet, and educating citizens on the importance of proper sanitation. The Indian government has launched an unusual campaign called No Toilet, No Bride. The campaign encourages the growing trend that grooms offer toilets as a part of a dowry. Having a safe and sanitary place to relieve oneself leads to a cleaner environment, improving the quality of water and helping people enjoy better overall health. People in good health are better able to work and study, which means a greater chance at keeping up at school and ultimately achieving financial prosperity. #ItsNotOnly a toilet, it’s a path to better health.
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are among the featured speakers at the first major gathering of the world’s finance and development leaders in 2016 – the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.
The global economy, climate change, refugees, and the digital divide are just a few of the topics on the agenda in the lead-up to the meetings the week of April 11. We’re webcasting 19 events in multiple languages featuring government ministers, experts, and CEOs.
Tune in Wednesday for a special event with Obama on educating adolescent girls. Later, the World Bank’s top economists will weigh in on economic growth in turbulent times, and Margaret Chan of the World Health Organization co-hosts a session on bringing mental health issues out of the shadows.
