The West African Economic and Monetary Union community, which comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, is facing a deficit of decent housing of…
CIWA is exploring ways to better align its transboundary water cooperation efforts with biodiversity conservation goals, including identifying opportunities at the intersection of transboundary…
Beyond brick and mortar: Key lessons learned on the impact of infrastructure on economic development
A new paper that synthesizes over 300 studies over 40 years is one of the most significant attempts to date to understand the impact of infrastructure on development outcomes. With some caveats,…
High levels of poverty coupled with conflict, instability, and climate-induced disasters, make the Sahel a difficult environment for the people that live there. Challenges from droughts and…
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…
Boko Haram, women, climate change and insurgency: Unraveling common myths about the Lake Chad region
The Lake Chad region is a highly heterogenous and socioeconomically integrated area in West-Central Africa that is experiencing a violent security crisis linked to Boko Haram and affiliated groups…
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…
West and Central Africa faces compounding challenges including increased climate change impacts, such as prolonged drought and unpredictable rainy seasons causing flooding in the Sahel; high…
Check out some of the lessons learned from the first year of implementation of the Niger drought response cash transfer pilot program.