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 |

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 |

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 |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group that were published in the World Bank’s Policy Research Working Paper Series. This entry…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

Despite accessibility of remote learning during closures, MENA students this year are academically behind cohorts of the same grades in previous years. To help with recovery, the World Bank and…

Kaliope Azzi-Huck, Andreas Blom, Keiko Miwa, Aarya Shinde |

As new coronavirus cases rise again more than three months after lockdown ended, Tunisian pupils are preparing for schools to reopen. What can they expect? What health conditions lie in wait for…

Michael Drabble, Antonius Verheijen |

The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the need for digital skills, therefore education and training need to become more affordable, relevant, context-vigilant and inclusive. There are five elements to…

Andreas Blom, Mariam Nusrat, Nicole Goldin |

New Zealand’s success story is often told in terms of its lamb, wool, kiwifruit and agricultural exports. But our country’s greatest asset has always been our people who have been equipped to do…

Annette Dixon |

The start of this new school year was quite special. It took place two days after the first round of the second presidential elections being held in Tunisia since the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.

Michael Drabble |