Precious Zikhali is a Senior Economist with the Poverty and Equity Global Practice at the World Bank, based in Nairobi, Kenya. A development and environmental economist by training, she has extensive experience in leveraging data and evidence to inform policies aimed at ending extreme poverty and promoting equity. Precious has worked extensively with national statistics offices and governments across diverse low- and middle-income countries to advance evidence-based decision-making. She currently leads the Kenya Analytical Program on Forced Displacement (KAP-FD), which focuses on producing socioeconomic panel data, evaluating interventions, and providing policy recommendations to improve the livelihoods of both refugee and host communities.
Before joining the World Bank in 2013, Precious held roles in the public and international development sectors, including at the National Treasury of South Africa, the Amsterdam Centre for World Food Studies, and the International Water Management Institute. She also served as a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Economics at the University of Zimbabwe. Precious holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.