As a transport specialist – and an avid motorist – I travel across Azerbaijan on a regular basis, both for business and pleasure. As such, I can attest that the country’s road infrastructure,…
It’s a cold spring day in Baku, and several students from Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU) are huddled around a laptop trying to project an image onto their classroom wall. …
Editorial credit: alionabirukova / Shutterstock.com Last week, the world came to attention when the famous Hulene dumpsite in Maputo, Mozambique collapsed under heavy rains, killing at least 16…
I have always believed that communities are like musical instruments. You need to tune them properly to hear their divine music. I actually heard this music from rural communities in India. And…
Developed in response to macro-economic changes in Azerbaijan, the MSLF student loan program is having a significant impact on recipients' lives. (Photo: Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank)…
I was back in Baku recently, after a 9 year gap, and guess what I recognized first? Yes, those famous pounding winds – immortalized in the city’s ancient Persian name of Bādkube – or “city of…
After seventeen months in the South Caucasus, I have learnt a lot from colleagues in the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia about this day, March 8th. It is considered one of the most…
Editor's note: This blog post is part of a series for the 'Bureaucracy Lab', a World Bank initiative to better understand the world's public officials. Photo: Arne Hoel / World…
It's as tall as some of Baku’s fanciest buildings, but the only residents here are crows and seagulls. Welcome to the Central Balakhani Sanitary Landfill, the largest rubbish dump in the…