Secondary cities and towns in the Sahel: Creating places of opportunity

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…

Judy Baker, Sylvie Debomy, Soraya Goga |
Urban Development

5 myths about Disaster Risk Financing for adaptive social protection in the Sahel

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 |
Disaster Risk Management, Financial Sector, Gender, Social Protection

What happens when early childhood development meets women’s economic empowerment?

Evidence shows that children’s development and women’s participation in economic activity increase growth, reduce poverty, and improve household well-being. This paper examines whether community-…

Kehinde Ajayi, Aziz Dao, Rebekka Grun, Estelle Koussoubé |
Competitiveness, Education, Financial Inclusion, Gender, Governance, Inequality and Shared Prosperity, Jobs & Development, Poverty, Social Protection

Policy Research Working Paper series publication roundup for November 16 - 30

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces four papers published from November 16 to November 30 on various topics,…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |
Competitiveness, Debt, Education, Gender, Governance, Jobs & Development, Poverty, Social Protection

Training the next generation of groundwater specialists in the Sahel

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, Mariam Sou |
Climate Change, Education, Gender, Jobs & Development, Water

Seasonal deprivation in the Sahel is large, widespread, but it can be anticipated and addressed

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 |
Agriculture and Food, Climate Change, Nutrition

Limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine, and a lack of confidence from the population could hamper immunization efforts in Sahelian Countries

Like other countries worldwide, Sahelian countries have been seriously impacted by COVID-19. As of May 31st, 2022, many Sahelian people have been infected by the pandemic, including 20,899 cases…

Aboudrahyme Savadogo, Aly Sanoh, Sidi Mohamed Sawadogo, Clarence Tsimpo Nkengne |

Short-term impacts of targeted cash grants and business development services in Burkina Faso

Creating new jobs is one of the biggest challenges facing low- and middle-income countries. This blog assesses the short-term impacts of two innovative interventions to enhance private sector…

Michael Grimm, Michael Weber, Sidiki Soubeiga |
Competitiveness, Financial Inclusion, Governance, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management, Poverty, Social Protection, Trade

COVID-19 pandemic and internally displaced people: Data collection during a double crisis in Burkina Faso

Along with other countries worldwide, Burkina Faso has been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020.

Harriet Kasidi Mugera, Jeffery Tanner, Marco Tiberti, Clarence Tsimpo Nkengne |
Fragility Conflict and Violence

Better transport can bring African countries closer together and support their economies

Better road infrastructure can foster a better integration between the main coastal economies in West Africa.

Mathilde Lebrand |
Infrastructure & Public-Private Partnerships, Regional Integration, Transport