Gender equality and fair treatment of women and girls is a moral imperative, but global data analytics, evidence and experience clearly demonstrate that including women also fosters economic…

Christopher Stephens |

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 |

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…

François Bertone, Mariam Sou |

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…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

The rapid evolution of the war in Ukraine and its horrendous humanitarian consequences caught many of us by surprise. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is unfortunately prone to such…

Ferid Belhaj |

The challenges of digital inclusion faced in MENA region are intertwined with social issues like poverty, conflict, gender inequality, forced migration and lack of access to basic services.…

Bertha Mwakapenda, Hamdi Karakal, Jemilehin Funmilayo, Narissa Jeffrey |

Public sectors in MENA have struggled to reform for decades. Public sector employees account for 25% of total employment across the region and public sector salaries represent 32% of total…

Izzah Akram Malik, Jens Kromann Kristensen |

A new research paper examines gender norms, domestic work, and school enrollment for Syrian refugee adolescent girls in Jordan, comparing girls and boys, adults and adolescents, Jordanians and…

Caroline Krafft, Ragui Assaad, Isabel Pastoor |

When he first arrived in Jordan, Abd was shocked by the lack of water. He fled Syria in 2013 after the destruction of his house and out of fear for his children’s lives. But since arriving in…

Edoardo Borgomeo, Anders Jagerskog, Carmen Nonay |

COVID-19 is revealing inequities between and within countries. As it is likely to become endemic, we have to learn to do better and to invest in the evidence needed for learning.

Johannes Hoogeveen, Bilal Malaeb, Lokendra Phadera |