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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…