In Sri Lanka, a free ambulance service is using digital innovation and homegrown solutions to save countless lives. A great example of how countries in South Asia continue to be resilient and…

Martin Raiser |

The Kopay Divisional Hospital in the Jaffna District in northern Sri Lanka is one of the primary medical care institutions that is part of the country’s healthcare reorganization strategy,…

Anna Bjerde |

A look back at South Asia’s year in 10 blogs. These blogs spotlight stories of resilience and innovation, and explore issues critical to the region such as air pollution, climate change, women’s…

Adnan Siddiqi, Trishna Thapa |

South Asia continues to experience rising temperatures, with record-breaking heat waves that are longer, hotter, and more frequent. Heat not only causes deaths and lowers productivity, but also…

Ella Kim, Sebastian Forsch, Leon Glicksman |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces six papers published in January of 2023 on various topics, including gender,…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

Learn from Indonesia and Sri Lanka on how health systems are fuelled by their financing arrangements and getting them right is crucial for ensuring people remain at their heart.

Christoph Kurowski, Kara Hanson, Somil Nagpal |

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the largest global shocks in recent history, but it did not increase extreme poverty in Africa as it was feared it would. The reason may be a combination of things…

Kibrom A. Abay, Nishant Yonzan, Sikandra Kurdi, Kibrom Tafere |

Two-wheeler crashes account for the highest death rate around the world, compared to other road traffic crashes. The situation is particularly alarming in South Asia. But the proper use of…

Jean Todt, Hartwig Schafer |

The pandemic-induced lifestyle changes will exacerbate the already acute plastics waste challenges in South Asia unless urgent action is taken.

Monika Kumar, Nina Tsydenova, Pawan Patil |