While MENA has made strides in improving women and girls’ health, much more needs to be done. Understanding the impact of conflict on women and girls is critical for designing both preventive…
When conflicts end, the tragic impact of lives lost, damages, and the countless needs of people left in its wake are overwhelmingly visible. There are also other long-lasting and damaging…
Children in Lebanese public schools have experienced four consecutive disrupted academic years (2019-20 to 2022-23), receiving approximately 270 days of in-person teaching compared with the 600…
On May 15 this year, we were in Baghdad on what was a very special day for 350 primary education children. We had traveled north of the city with the World Bank education team for the opening…
Across Africa, adaptive social safety nets are on the rise. Building on traditional safety nets that provide cash assistance and other services to poor households on a regular basis, they respond…
As we commemorate the International Day of Education this month, the 2023 theme “to invest in people, prioritize education” – it is all the more crucial for the countries of the Middle East and…
As climate change diminishes the availability of surface water in Africa, groundwater has emerged as a vital untapped resource. But in the Sahel, a global hotspot for climate change and one of the…
This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces six papers published from April 16 to April 30 on various topics, including…
Low learning levels are putting the future of Iraqi children and, as a result, the future of the whole country at risk. The development of human capital, necessary for sustainable economic growth…
The war in Ukraine could not have come at a worse time, eroding global economic prospects as much of the world struggles to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the immediate impacts of the…