Tag Archives: Africa

Voices from Western and Central Africa: Standing Up for the Power of Girls

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STORY HIGHLIGHTSpower-of-girls-western-and-central-africa-v6

  • Women and girls across the African continent yearn for learning and dream of a better future where they can pursue their education, stay healthy, find work, and care for their families at the same time.
  • Many countries in the region are taking steps towards political and economic inclusion. The latest World Bank’s Women, Business, and the Law report highlights that Sub-Saharan Africa continues to advance reforms to close the legal gender gap, but a broad gap remains between laws on paper and the reality on the ground.
  • Here are five stories of change that highlight voices of girl champions from the region having ripple effects within their communities and entire countries and economies.

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Regional Economic Updates

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Here are the latest bi-annual regional economic updates to explore the macro developmentecon-update trends in Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia. 

These reports are issued the week before the World Bank-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Morocco, October 9-15.

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Tackling Food Insecurity

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Stories of resilience from Madagascar, the Central African Republic, and Egypt

How a new financing pact can help climate-vulnerable countries

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This blog originally appeared in the Project Syndicate on September 8, 2023blog-a-new-financing-pact-for-climate-vulnerable-countries-1440x500.jpg

Amid an escalating climate emergency and a global debt crisis, calls for a new “fit for climate” global financial architecture are growing louder throughout the developing world. The urgent need for decisive action has been underscored by Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown Initiative, the V20 group of climate-vulnerable countries, and the recent Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. This week’s Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi presented a unique opportunity to promote much-needed measures to support low-income countries in pursuing sustainable growth.

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Tackling Food Insecurity

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Stories of resilience from Madagascar, the Central African Republic, and Egypt

We couldn’t even figure out how to face the next day or find food for our children.”
Volatsarasoa is a mother of four who lives in the village of Malangy, near the southern tip of Madagascar in one of the poorest regions in the country. With a fifth child on the way, she spends a lot of time thinking about a prosperous future for her children by learning from the experiences of her recent past.

When the El Niño phenomenon hit during the 2015-16 rainy season, Madagascar recieved just 50-80% of its normal precipitation – triggering a drought and crop yields that were 90% below normal.

“Me, my husband, and my children suffered a lot because there was no food, and we were starving. We barely ate, most of the time just a cup of rice for all of us, and only in the evening. It was very hard, and we couldn’t even figure out how to face the next day or find food for our children with everything going on I was worried. I was panicked.”

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Realizing a Brighter Future for a Young, Energized, and Connected Africa

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Indigenous Youth on Cultural Identity and a Livable Planet

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This year, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples recognizes the efforts of Indigenous Youth to support sustainable development, along with their pursuit of justice and preservation of their culture and traditions. The World Bank interviewed Indigenous Youth leaders from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to hear their stories and deepen our understanding of their strategies.  While each have experienced unique circumstances, they face similar challenges that put at risk their capacity to sustain their peoples’ significant contributions to conserving the world’s rich cultural and biological diversity.

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Investing in Youth, Transforming Africa

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STORY HIGHLIGHTSafe-hc-summit

  • By 2075, one-third of the world’s population—and of the working-age population—will be African. It is the only region where the workforce will grow continuously in the coming decades.
  • This gives Africa an enormous opportunity to drive economic growth and prosperity through investments in education, skills, and health.
  • Africa’s Heads of State are gathering at the Africa Human Capital Heads of State Summit to discuss how to accelerate human capital accumulation, leverage the youth bulge, and create jobs to propel economic growth.

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