In South Asia’s poorest countries, empowering women is essential to reducing poverty

There are millions of such inspiring, independent women across South Asia—especially in the poorest countries, which are served by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).

Hartwig Schafer |
Digital Development, Education, Gender, Jobs & Development, Poverty, Social Protection

Now is the time to invest in South Asia’s future

The World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, IDA has been a reliable partner in South Asia for more than six decades and contributed to a sharp decline in poverty in the region. Yet, for…

Hartwig Schafer |
Climate Change, Education, Environment, Fragility Conflict and Violence, Gender, Governance, Health, Inequality and Shared Prosperity, Jobs & Development, Poverty, Water

Putting women’s health and empowerment at the center of development

Registered nurses look after newborns at a maternity hospital in Freetown Sierra Leone. © Dominic Chavez/World Bank Last week on World Population Day, I was thinking of the joy of children and the…

Kristalina Georgieva |
Gender, Financial Inclusion, Financial Sector, Education, Health

Hope for the world’s poorest springs in Myanmar

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, state counselor of Myanmar and Nobel Peace Prize winner, told representatives from governments rich and poor at a meeting this week in Myanmar that reducing poverty and…

Axel van Trotsenburg |
Climate Change, Fragility Conflict and Violence, Gender

A Lesson from Malala: Girls’ Education Pays Off

When I heard the news last autumn that 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan had been shot simply for standing up for her right as a girl to get an education, I was horrified. It also reminded…

Sri Mulyani Indrawati |
Education, Gender