Some of the Horn’s countries are among Africa’s poorest. The problems are daunting, but the region’s governments are taking bold steps to tackle them. They have launched the Horn of Africa…

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…

Tackling fragility and promoting integration in the Horn of Africa through ‘development diplomacy’

Since 2011, as part of the Nile Basin Initiative, the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office in partnership with CIWA has run an internship program for the next generation of talented water…

With 90 percent of fresh water in Africa found within 63 international river basin catchments crossing multiple borders, water resource management on the continent must be an inherently…

Maps and the use of geographical information systems (GIS) are also key tools in understanding the value of ‘unseen’ resources such as groundwater, a topic that will be at the forefront of the…

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group that were published in the World Bank’s Policy Research Working Paper Series. It introduces five…

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…

In a recent visit to South Sudan, we met with livestock herders as they were tending to their livestock in a cattle camp outside of Juba. One of the most memorable conversations was with a woman…

Women in South Sudan face extraordinary challenges. Rates of sexual and gender-based violence are among the highest in the world. Opportunities for education and vocational training are scarce.…