The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) has developed country profiles to assess the progress of developing PPP legal frameworks and carried out a comparative analysis of existing legal and…

Maude Vallée, Andrea Stucchi |

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 |

Tracking economic developments can be challenging when data are aggregated and released with a lag. In Algeria, for instance, GDP data are available up to the fourth quarter of 2022.

Cyril Desponts, Eric Le Borgne |

As we marked World Poverty Day on October 17th, a blog published recently by World Bank staff highlights that poverty has finally receded to pre-COVID pandemic levels, which in essence means we…

Nadir Mohammed, Laura Moreno Herrera, Salman Zaidi |

Most workers in developing countries are in informal employment-- that is, a job that does not come with social security benefits and leaving them with limited means to manage risks to their…

Nadir Mohammed, Roberta Gatti, Marco Ranzani, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Nistha Sinha, Adam Elsheikhi |

High levels of marine and coastal pollution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) pose a severe threat to the region’s “blue economy,” which is a key lever for economic growth in the region.…

Kanako Hasegawa, Lamia Mansour, Dahlia Lotayef, Suiko Yoshijima, Andrea Kutter |

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 |

The recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has raised the prominence of climate action in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)…

Asif Islam, Dalal Moosa, Federica Saliola |

Digital investments in government operations not only make them more efficient, but they also increase preparedness for emergencies, whether related to public health, climate, fragility, or trade…

Nadir Mohammed, Jens Kromann Kristensen, Emily Kallaur, Stephen Davenport |

Women of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have outperformed many other regions in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality, and tertiary education. Their performance in education has, in…

Ferid Belhaj, Paul Noumba Um, Muneeza Mehmood Alam |