Digital public infrastructure can enable essential society-wide functions and services such as identification, payments, and data exchange.

Vyjayanti T Desai, Jonathan Marskell, Georgina Marin, Minita Varghese |

As South Asian countries intensify the fight against COVID-19, it is imperative that social protection programs, including cash transfers, food vouchers, unemployment benefits, pensions, wage…

Lynne Sherburne-Benz, Stefano Paternostro, Zaineb Majoka |

The future of the sanitation economy: Perspectives on World Toilet Day

Maria Angelica Sotomayor, Martin Gambrill |

Open defecation is the practice of people defecating outside, such as in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water. Between 2000 and 2017, the world nearly...

Haruna Kashiwase |

The World Bank Group’s Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative recently released a consultation draft of the ID4D Practitioner’s Guide for public comments throughout June.

Julia Clark, Vyjayanti T Desai, Jonathan Marskell |

Suguna, one of the many women who has benefited from Aadhaar– her digital identity. © Bernat Parera In Para village of Rajasthan, India, Shanti Devi’s livelihood depends on wages earned through…

Nandan Nilekani |

Juan and his sisters proudly show their identification. © Daniel Silva Yoshisato/World Bank Peru has placed so much emphasis on the importance of identification that it has created a museum…

Samia Melhem, Mia Harbitz |

Between 1977 and 1997, the World Bank supported “sites and services” projects in 27 cities across India A freshly-minted architect stood staring at a sea of toilets. Row after row of them, on…

Sumila Gulyani |

Within the next 30 years, urban populations in developing countries will double and UN-Habitat estimates that around 3 billion people will need housing and basic infrastructure. Already, 70% of…

Parul Agarwala, Syed Usman Javaid |

Many regions and countries face urbanization challenges, South Asia is no exception. Although the region is currently the least urbanized region in the world, its urbanization rate is on par with…

Judy Deng |