Category Archives: WBG News & Reports

Supporting Pollution Reduction Efforts to Protect the Health of Egyptians and Spur Economic Recovery

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Recent studies highlighting the adverse impact of pollution on growth estimate that the annual economic cost of air pollution on health in the Greater Cairo area alone is about 1.4 percent of Egypt’s Gross Domestic Product.

Healthy citizens are the cornerstone of every country’s development and are integral for sustainable economic growth. Given the many health hazards of pollution—from cancer to respiratory ailments and much more—it is increasingly becoming recognized as an impediment to growth and development. Recent global efforts to minimize pollution, through initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and The Paris Agreement, aim to set global guidelines for countries in order to reduce pollution. 

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Food Relief for Poor Afghans Amid COVID-19

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Story Highlights:Food Relief for Poor Afghans Amid COVID-19

  • 750,000 Afghan households facing food insecurity and hunger have received food and basic necessities packages. Over 5 million households are expected to benefit.
  • Two World Bank projects support this relief effort through the Afghan government’s Dastarkhwan-e-Meli program, which aims to alleviate hunger and unemployment for the most vulnerable.
  • Local Community Development Councils buy the relief packages from local providers, thus helping create jobs and stimulate local economies.

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Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report

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HighlightsGGFR_report_cover2

  • Gas flaring, the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction, takes place due to a range of issues, from market and economic constraints, to a lack of appropriate regulation and political will. The practice results in a range of pollutants released into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, methane and black carbon (soot).
  • The Global Gas Flaring Tracker finds that oil production declined by 8% (from 82 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019 to 76 million b/d in 2020), while global gas flaring reduced by 5% (from 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2019 to 142 bcm in 2020).
  • Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Algeria, Venezuela and Nigeria remain the top seven gas flaring countries for nine years running. These seven countries produce 40% of the world’s oil each year, but account for roughly two-thirds (65%) of global gas flaring.

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India’s Youth Rise Up to Fix Country’s Toxic Air Problem

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Seeing bluer skies in India—a nation known for its alarming air pollution levels—remains a major

governmental priority. In recent times, the country launched its flagship National Clean Air Program (NCAP) to provide a roadmap to prevent, control, and reduce unhealthy air and mitigate its effects on development. Yet, much remains to be done, and one can still cough up troubling statistics on the lack of clean air in India: On an average, 248 million Indians lose 8 years of their lives due to exposure to poor air quality. And 1.67 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in India in 2019.

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Turning the Tide on Marine Plastics in South Asia

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South Asia is the third largest contributor to global plastic waste. It generates 334 million metric tons of solid waste every year. Nearly 70-80% of this waste ends up in the ocean 12% is plastic. On current trends, if no action is taken, the amount of mismanaged waste (including plastic) across South Asia is projected to double to 661 million tons by 2050, adversely affecting the region’s ocean ecosystems, livelihoods, human health, and sustainable development more broadly. COVID-19 has further exacerbated plastic pollution, with increased demand for single-use plastic and pressure on solid waste management systems.

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Financing SDG2: Hunger and malnutrition- what will it take?

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One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the health crisis has triggered an economic crisis and a protracted rise in food insecurity.  Basic sustenance has become unaffordable for the world’s poorest, and disruptions of health and nutrition services will have long term consequences. Even before the pandemic, the world was not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) goal of Zero Hunger.

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Time to decarbonize transport for a green, resilient and inclusive recovery

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At a time when we face enormous challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is heartening to see the world mobilizing as never before to tackle the looming crisis of global warming. From renewable energy to carbon markets to sustainable agriculture, countries are taking steps to address emissions and enhance resilience.  The international development community is also stepping up. In 2020, the World Bank Group reached its highest ever level of climate financing, at $21.4 billion, and we recently announced our plan to align all-new World Bank operations with the Paris Agreement by July 2023.

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Deploying Digital Tools to Withstand Climate Change in Low-Income Countries

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Climate change is increasing the frequency of natural hazards.
  • Disaster risk management specialists have improved the ability of countries to respond to risks, using a variety of digital technologies.
  • Mapping, micro-tasking and visualizing tools are critical to reduce the impact of climate change in the world’s poorest countries.

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Report: Commodity Prices to Stabilize after Early 2021 Gains, Supported by Global Economic Recovery

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Path of commodity prices depends on pace of recovery and containment of COVID-19

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2021 – Commodity prices continued their recovery in the first quarter of 2021 and are expected to remain close to current levels throughout the year, lifted by the global economic rebound and improved growth prospects, according to the World Bank’s semi-annual Commodity Markets Outlook.

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