Lire Ersado is the World Bank’s Human Development Practice Leader for Pakistan. As Practice Leader, Lire oversees the Bank’s program covering education, health, nutrition and population, social protection and jobs for Pakistan. Prior to his current role, he held a similar position in Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA), covering Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Previously, Lire led social protection analytical and lending activities and policy dialogue in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, and Yemen. Earlier, he managed regional and programmatic poverty monitoring and statistical capacity building and social protection lending and analytical activities for several countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, North Macedonia, Serbia and Sudan. Prior to joining the Bank, Lire, an Ethiopian national, was a postdoctoral research fellow at International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC and has taught at Haramaya University, Ethiopia. Lire’s work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Economic Development and Cultural Change, World Development, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, and Journal of Development Studies. Lire holds a Ph.D. in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA.