Reminder on Subcontract and Subaward Reporting Requirements

Letter from USAID

Dear Partners,

The purpose of this letter is to remind prime contractors and recipients of their responsibilities to report certain subawards and subcontracts in the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Subaward Reporting System (FSRS), available at FSRS.gov.

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Dutch cabinet accelerates plan for hydrogen production at sea

The cabinet wants to install the first large-scale green hydrogen production at sea inHydrogenfuelcell the North Sea, north of the Wadden Islands. The production location will be located next to two wind farms and should be operational around 2031. The green hydrogen is brought ashore through pipelines.

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Remembering the lessons of COVID-19 to build resilience for future shocks in Europe and Central Asia

From January 2020 until recently, COVID-19 dominated international headlines and ourserbiacovidtesting.jpg thoughts. Europe and Central Asia were severely hit by COVID-19, facing among the highest excess death rates in the worldAs we start to mask less and come together more, we should reflect on the ramifications of COVID-19 and how we are helping the most vulnerable in Europe and Central Asia address the human capital losses it induced.   

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Food Security Update | World Bank Response to Rising Food Insecurity

Latest Update – February 27, 2023

Domestic food price inflation remains high around the world. Information from the latest month between October 2022 and January 2023 for which food price inflation data are available shows high inflation in almost all low- and middle-income countries, with inflation levels above 5% in 88.9% of low-income countries, 87.8% of lower-middle-income countries, and 93.0% of upper-middle-income countries and many experiencing double-digit inflation. In addition, about 87.3% of high-income countries are experiencing high food price inflation. The countries affected most are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia. 

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Penny for your thoughts? Why coordination among creditors is key to sustainable debt

We know that when used wisely and transparently, debt is important to financedirk_hero.jpg development. Prudent debt can power economies and pave the way for a resilient future—allowing countries to focus on important investments in people and economic growth.   

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USAID Acquisition and Assistance Strategy Launch

 

A&A Strategy Cover Page

We are happy to announce the launch of USAID’s refreshed Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) Strategy. This strategy provides our vision and approach for how we will collaborate across the Agency, with our partners, and with the communities we serve to achieve better development results. 

USAID will pursue the following vision and objectives laid out in the A&A Strategy: 

VISION: USAID and its partners enable sustainable, inclusive, and locally led development results through acquisition and assistance. 

Objective 1: A&A workforce enabled, equipped, and empowered to further USAID’s development and humanitarian mission.

Objective 2: Streamlined and effective A&A integrated throughout the Agency’s development approach.

Objective 3: A more diverse set of partners engaged to implement locally led development solutions.

You can view the entire A&A Strategy here.

Unlocking Clean Cooking Pathways : A Practitioner’s Keys to Progress (English)

Provision of clean cooking for all is recognized as a critical cross-sectoral development issue. The potential societal benefits are enormous, particularly for public health, women’s productivity and empowerment, and the environment. Along with electrification, clean cooking is an essential component to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 7.1 – ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services. However, the stark reality is that progress on clean cooking access has been stymied by past perceptions of the sector as orphaned, invisible, and expensive. Recent developments have opened a window of opportunity for driving scale. The World Bank’s Clean Cooking Fund, the largest dedicated fund for galvanizing political commitment, scaling up public and private investment, and catalyzing innovation is using innovative Results-Based Financing (RBF) designs and applications to promote long-term market development and advance access for all. Lessons and success stories from the World Bank’s recent operational experience in the sector show how making access to clean cooking a political priority, using people-centered approaches, can drive large development impacts for society. To unlock a country’s clean cooking pathways, stakeholders must carefully consider its overall enabling environment, including its institutional capacity to implement transformative solutions. In countries with a high access deficit, addressing the cooking poverty issue will initially require modernizing the biomass fuel sector and promoting integrated, cost-effective approaches. How does one make the case for clean cooking in countries with a high access deficit? What are the guiding principles for developing a clean cooking strategy? What building blocks are necessary to promote market development for long-term sustainability? This report attempts to answer these and other key questions.
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Global Vendor Forum for Women-Owned Businesses: Accessing Consulting Opportunities at the WBG -March 22, 2023

Are you a women-owned business interested in doing business with the WBG? Join theWBE-Forum-postcard-web-780x439-1 World Bank Group Corporate Procurement unit for an engaging presentation on how to access corporate procurement opportunities.

EVENT DETAILS

  • Registration: Registration for this event is required and participation is free.
  • Language: The language of the event will be English.
  • CONTACT: Corporate Procurement 
  • corporateprocurement@worldbank.org

Register Now

 

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The World Bank Group and International Women’s Day

Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, I want to share an update on the Worldjericho_wb_ahed_izhiman5_banner.jpg Bank Group’s work on gender.

Addressing critical gender gaps, including female labor force participation, offers an opportunity to boost incomes and stimulate growth. Research from the World Bank has repeatedly made clear that accelerating gender equality can generate significant economic gains.

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For women and girls in Benin, multi-faceted gender reforms offer new opportunities

STORY HIGHLIGHTSwomen-and-girls-in-Benin-780x439-v2

  • A new law expands the definition of gender-based violence (GBV) and increases or institutes punishments to tackle the scourge of GBV.
  • An overhaul of health regulations improves women’s access to reproductive health, including contraception, particularly for youth in youth-friendly facilities.
  • The World Bank is supporting Benin through a multi-faceted program to improve the lives of women and girls.

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