ACCRA, May 5, 2026 – A dozen ministers of health and finance, alongside representatives of development partners, the private sector, civil society, regional institutions and youth leaders from Western and Central Africa concluded a one-day meeting in Accra on May 4th to advance the health, nutrition and population agenda and deliver better access to quality health care for communities across the region.
Continue readingWASHINGTON, March 31, 2026—The World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, and The Rockefeller Foundation launched a new Mission 300 Private Sector Council to mobilize the billions in private investment needed to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030 —while unlocking job creation across the continent.
Continue reading“Credit: World Bank Group. All rights reserved”
Delivering water safely uses a surprising amount of energy. In the emerging markets and developing economies of Europe and Central Asia, the energy footprint of delivering water services is particularly high. The average country spends about 10% of its energy bills on water use—more than five times the share spent in advanced economies. In fact, total water-related energy use in the region annually is roughly equal to the total energy consumption of Greece.
By 2050, one in three of the world’s children will live in Africa. Yet this demographic shift coincides with a profound learning crisis: over 70 percent of children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10—and in Sub-Saharan Africa, the figure reached 86 percent before the pandemic. Without rapid acceleration in foundational learning outcomes, this demographic advantage risks becoming a source of deeper inequality and lost opportunity, talent, and productivity in the labor market.
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From a young age, Leah Francis Basu was fascinated by the mechanics of an aircraft. “I loved aircrafts,” she recalls, describing the moment she first discovered the science of lift. “It was surprising to me to learn the Bernoulli’s principle, where air moving faster over the top of the wing creates lower pressure, while the air beneath the wing remains at higher pressure, forcing the aircraft upward to take off.”
Continue readingThanks to the World Bank-financed Eastern Electricity Highway Project (EEHP) Kenya is now importing cheaper renewable electricity from Ethiopia. The 1,065 kilometers power transmission line is helping Kenya balance its electricity supply and demand. This is the first publicly financed high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line in Sub-Saharan Africa that promotes regional integration and power exchange. With a 500 kV capacity, the project is facilitating regional power trade within the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP) by allowing for the bi-directional transfer of up to 2,000 MW of power. The transmission line became operational in December 2022 and is on track to connect to Tanzania and the Southern Africa Power Pool. The project was also supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Agence Française de Dévelopement (AFD), the Government of Ethiopia and Kenya.
“Credit: World Bank Group. All rights reserved”
That selfie you took on an idyllic white sand beach, in a sprawling city park, or atop a mountain range at sunset? It’s more than just a photo of you. It reflects nature’s magnetic pull on people across the world and its role in fueling global tourism.
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Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic promise is clear. It has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population; by 2050 a quarter of the world’s working-age population will be living in Africa, with vast natural resources, and expanding regional markets. Yet these strengths are undermined by a persistent weakness: the region’s skills gap.
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Netherlands for the World Bank 