Human capital development is essential for sustained and inclusive growth. The wealth of modern nations depends not only on their natural resources: it also depends on their human resources.…

Nathalie Lahire, Ioana Botea, Eliane Mbende |

Across Africa, adaptive social safety nets are on the rise. Building on traditional safety nets that provide cash assistance and other services to poor households on a regular basis, they respond…

Felix Lung |

Rising debt and record-high commodity prices are tempting many developing countries to pledge their natural resources to secure the financing they so urgently need. They should tread carefully: a…

Marcello Estevão, Diego Rivetti, David Mihalyi |

A stronger human capital base can help communities adapt to a changing climate, and reciprocally, investments in low-carbon, climate-resilient development can help countries unlock further human…

Carolina Monsalve, Kavita Watsa |

Last month, I attended the International Family Planning Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, where policymakers from across the world gathered to strategize about ways to achieve a demographic dividend—…

Annette Dixon |

Betty teaches mothers with small children about nutrition, Uganda. Photo: © Stephan Gladieu / World Bank In a large, complex, or urgent situation, the command goes out: “All hands on deck!” Sub-…

Emmanuel Skoufias |

Many people were bitterly disappointed when four cases of wild polio were discovered in August 2016 in insecure areas of Borno State in the northeast of Nigeria. Nigeria had gone for almost two…

Mayowa Oluwatosin Alade, Benjamin Loevinsohn, Ayodeji Oluwole Odutolu |

On World Refugee Day, we pay tribute to faces of resilience – mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, and children, who fled horrific circumstances as refugees, but who continue to strive every day to…

Jim Yong Kim |

Also available in: Français | العربية   A boat trip from Port Elizabeth to Kingstown, in the Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is a one-hour trip that locals take several…

Valerie Lorena |

As we observe World Population Day on July 11, there is new momentum in Africa’s Sahel region to achieve an important milestone in many nations’ path to economic prosperity – realizing the…

Meera Shekar |