With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), world leaders made a bold pledge in 2015 to leave no one behind on the path of development by 2030. Half-way to the target date, some 22 countries…

Samuel Kofi Tetteh Baah, Christoph Lakner, Umar Serajuddin |

Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced low economic growth per capita, a very slow decline in poverty incidence, and the number of people living in extreme poverty has been rising steadily. As a…

Johannes Hoogeveen, Johan A. Mistiaen, Haoyu Wu |

Across the Sahel, young women are key contributors to the socio-economic development of their communities and countries.

Eleonora Cavagnero, Rohini P. Pande, Judith F. Helzner |

In seven East Asia and Pacific (EAP) countries, policymakers prioritize secondary school completion over basic learning quality, while underestimating the levels of learning poverty. This…

Noah Yarrow, Rythia Afkar, Paul Cahu, Mary E. Breeding |

Like many of its neighbors, Benin is experiencing growing threats of conflict. The country’s proximity to Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and Mali—all experiencing violent extremism—makes it…

Solene Rougeaux, Saint-Martin Kodjovi Mongan Agbeshie |

Urgent reforms on broadband policy would hasten the digital transformation the Philippines needs to achieve its goal of becoming a prosperous middle-class society by 2040.

Naoto Kanehira, Mitch Abdon, Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos |

School leadership plays a major role in shaping the quality of education, acting as a strategic lever to foster conducive learning conditions for students. Despite this, the characteristics of…

Nathalie Guilbert, Carolina Alban Conto, Fabricia Devignes, Juan D. Barón |

Cambodia has made remarkable development progress over the past decades through rapid economic growth, averaging over seven percent per year in the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic and lifting…

Sebastian Eckardt, Faya Hayati |

The Grand Nokoué metropolis of Benin has struggled with a lack of services for safe disposal and treatment of human waste for years. A new fecal sludge plant, built in Sèmè-Kpodji with support…

Mariam Sou, Xavier Chauvot De Beauchene, Kevin Ahouandjinou |

The West African Economic and Monetary Union community, which comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, is facing a deficit of decent housing of…

Mazen Bouri |