The substantial infrastructure needs in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot be met without sizeable private-sector financing. Anecdotal evidence from a recent IFC study shows improved regulatory frameworks…

Zivanemoyo Chinzara, Sebastien Dessus, Stephan Dreyhaupt |

More than ever, governments need to tap private sector expertise and financing for deploying battery energy storage systems (BESS). A new report provides insights on their merits and…

Ludovic Delplanque, Kwawu Mensan Gaba |

It is commonly thought that a shock affecting agricultural production will translate into food insecurity a few months later––during the next lean season. However, high-frequency data from the…

Emma Frankham, Jonas Heirman, Marcus Holmlund, Patrick Premand, Jennifer Waidler |

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 |

As climate change diminishes the availability of surface water in Africa, groundwater has emerged as a vital untapped resource. But in the Sahel, a global hotspot for climate change and one of the…

François Bertone, Yeli Mariam Dakoure Sou |

In April 20202, Action Against Hunger published a report presenting a set of measures designed to mitigate the impacts of the upcoming food crisis. The report started with a statement that is…

Stephanie Brunelin, Jonathan Lain |

Food-import bills are surging fastest for poor countries that are already in debt distress. The danger of an overlapping food and debt crisis is greatest those at high risk of debt distress or…

Marcello Estevão |

The World Bank’s engagement in transboundary waters in West Africa is at a turning point, at a time when the G5 Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger are facing…

Laura Bonzanigo, Sanjay Pahuja, Clementine Marie Stip, Cecilia Borgia |

With support from the World Bank, the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF), UNICEF, UNFPA, Care International, Plan International and Save the Children and others,…

Emelyne Calimoutou |

The leaders of Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad signed a groundbreaking declaration, calling for the creation of a Sahel coalition that would put education at the center of their…

Ousmane Diagana, Mamta Murthi |