With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), world leaders made a bold pledge in 2015 to leave no one behind on the path of development by 2030. Half-way to the target date, some 22 countries…

Samuel Kofi Tetteh Baah, Christoph Lakner, Umar Serajuddin |

As we mark International Women’s Day this month, we spotlight the main hurdles to women’s labor force participation in Iraq to shape future programs and policies for enhanced equality in the labor…

Soraya El-Khalil, Tala Ismail |

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…

Fadia Saadah, Sameera Al Tuwaijri |

Africa is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty. While many countries were successful in reducing poverty during the years before the pandemic,…

Camilla Holmemo, Christian Bodewig, Robert S. Chase, Suleiman Namara |

As we marked World Poverty Day on October 17th, a blog published recently by World Bank staff highlights that poverty has finally receded to pre-COVID pandemic levels, which in essence means we…

Nadir Mohammed, Laura Moreno Herrera, Salman Zaidi |

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…

Adelle Pushparatnam, Igor Kheyfets, Hana El-Ghali, Nadine El Franji |

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…

Jaime Saavedra, Elisabeth Sedmik |

CIWA is exploring ways to better align its transboundary water cooperation efforts with biodiversity conservation goals, including identifying opportunities at the intersection of transboundary…

Piet Theron |

On July 28, 2022, temperatures in Baghdad reached a blistering 51.8°C (125.2F) – the hottest day Iraq has ever recorded. Such extreme weather events are bound to become more frequent in Iraq and…

Mounir Mahmalat, Ali Ahmad |

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…

Ferid Belhaj |