Netherlands for the World Bank

Your guide to the World Bank Group

Netherlands for the World Bank

Fragility and Conflict: On the Front Lines of the Fight against Poverty

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • A new report estimates that by 2030 up to two-thirds of the global extreme poor will Imagebe living in FCS, making it evident that without intensified action, the global poverty goals will not be met.
  • The new report, “Fragility and Conflict: On the Front Lines of the Fight against Poverty” notes that the 43 countries in the world with the highest poverty rates are in FCS and/or Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The number of people living in proximity to conflict — defined as within 60 kilometers of at least 25 conflict-related deaths — has nearly doubled since 2007.

Globally, the prevalence of fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) continues to rise. The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has more than doubled since 2012, exceeding 74 million in 2018. A new report estimates that by 2030 up to two-thirds of the global extreme poor may be living in FCS, making it evident that without intensified action, the global poverty goals will not be met.

The new report, “Fragility and Conflict: On the Front Lines of the Fight against Poverty,” notes that the 43 countries in the world with the highest poverty rates are in FCS and/or Sub-Saharan Africa.  Economies facing chronic fragility and conflict have had poverty rates stuck at over 40 percent in the past decade, while countries that have escaped FCS have cut their poverty rates by more than half. Today, a person living in an economy facing chronic fragility and conflict is 10 times more likely to be poor than a person living in a country that hasn’t been in conflict or fragility in the past 20 years.

Continue reading

Policy priorities for achieving food and nutrition security in Africa by 2030

A key priority for Africa over the next decade should be to address a deteriorating food drc-tremeau-069security situation  that is compounded by the effects of climate change, declining agricultural productivity, and rapid population and urbanization growth. Encouragingly, this priority is reflected in initiatives shared by Africa and the world. Already, the African Union member states are committed to ending hunger by 2025 under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). Similarly, United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 calls for ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Despite these and other commitments, though, progress has been modest with only 9 out of 55 African countries currently on track to reduce under-nutrition to 5 percent or less by 2025. This insufficient progress underscores the need to redouble efforts. Going forward, policy priorities centered around leveraging science and digital technology, and addressing fragility hold the greatest promise.

Continue reading

eC2: Gender capacity building for National Trade Facilitation Committees in West Africa

Deadline: 24-Feb-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The consulting firm will be recruited to conduct the needs assessment of National Tradewomen-finance-blogpost Facilitation Committees (NTFCs) in 15 West African countries, design training materials, and roll out the training. The assignment is in two phases. The winner of the phase 1 contract will be awarded the phase 2 upon successful completion of the phase 1.

Continue reading

eC2: Preparation of a National Electrification Analysis in Mauritania

Deadline: 20-Feb-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The Government of Mauritania (GoM) has laid out a new vision for the country’s Africadevelopment, under its Accelerated Growth and Prosperity Sharing Strategy (SCAPP, the acronym in French). SCAPP’s Vision for the Future, “The Mauritania We Want in 2030,” aims for strong, inclusive and sustainable growth to meet the basic needs of citizens and ensure their well-being. In the energy sector, the Government aims to ensure universal access to quality services at the lowest cost and to provide economic actors with reliable and secure electricity, through: (a) Development of new production capacities from local resources, mainly natural gas; (b) Expansion of the transport network and interconnection with neighboring countries; (c) Increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix and (d) Implementing decentralized solutions in remote rural areas. The strategy seeks to increase access rate to 95% in urban areas and 40% in rural areas, in order to reach an overall electrification rate of 70% at the national level by 2030.

The proposed National Electrification Analysis would provide analysis and insight on various electricity access options for Mauritania, specifically through: (a) data collection and analysis; (b) assessment of service quality levels; (c) identification of potential least-cost technology options for electrification; and (d) identification of potential options and arrangements for scaling up electrification in Mauritania in line with national access targets.

Continue reading

eC2: Service Contract to support preparation of the Zambia Clean Cooking and Heating component

Deadline: 17-Feb-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The World Bank is looking to hire a company for a service contract and testing of cookstovescookstove use in Zambia. The findings will feed into the development of the project component. The service contract will include a Stove User Testing and a Market Analysis to ensure that the cookstove change promoted as part of the World Bank project offers a true value proposition to potential consumers and assess how it best fits within the Zambian market. To assess cookstove efficiency, particulate matter (PM) emissions, carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, durability, and safety, cookstoves are tested and certified in labs using a set of standardized ISO protocols. However, such lab tests have no bearing on the actual efficiency of the stove when used in the household achieved by users cooking with them. In addition, it yields no results on potential fuel and cash savings or stove acceptance.
The objective of the Stove User Testing is to produce a comparative analysis of cookstoves currently in use.

Continue reading

Africa needs to seize this growth opportunity

This week’s UK-Africa Investment Summit will provide a welcome business-focused 20170516-kenya-farhat-8120forum for leaders to assess the challenges and opportunities for African countries.  Throughout the summit, I will stress the importance – and difficulty – of transformational improvements in economic programs. Faster, more sustained and broad-based growth is the only path to creating the jobs and stability needed for the millions of young people reaching working age and is vital to the World Bank’s mission of alleviating poverty and raising living standards.

Continue reading

eC2: Disaster Risk Finance Capacity Building Program for Francophone Africa

Deadline: 03-Feb-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) vn-communitybased-disasterrisk-780x439

The objective of the Executive Education training will be for relevant African stakeholders to: enhance their understanding of disaster risk financing strategies and instruments for protection from natural disasters, embedded in the broader DRM and fiscal risk management frameworks, and build the skill sets to design and implement such strategies.

Continue reading

eC2: Public Expenditure Reviews of the Water Sector in select countries in Africa (Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Sierra Leone)

Deadline: 23-Jan-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) water

In each country, the main objectives of the planned PER are:
1. To identify strategic programs and activities in the water sector, consistent with its other objectives particularly those related to macroeconomic stability and public financial management
2. To make assessment of the funding gaps and efficiency gaps (both allocative efficiency and technical efficiency) in the water sector and develop appropriate polices for improving efficiency and effective channelization of financial resources to reach agreed sector goals.
3. To support the design and delivery of effective water services.

Continue reading

Doing more—and better—for Africa’s food system in the face of climate change

Africa’s food systems are in the throes of a climate crisis.  From devastating droughts in Southern Africa and West Africa to cyclones and flooding in East Africa, extreme weather is threatening crops and livestock and putting millions of Africans at risk for food insecurity. 237 million people suffer from chronic undernutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa, a number that rose in 2017, derailing gains that were made in previous years. The message from the headlines is loud and clear: We urgently need to adapt Africa’s agriculture and food system to climate change. And we need to act now. 

Continue reading

eC2: Public Expenditure Reviews of the Water Sector in select countries in Africa (Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Sierra Leone)

Deadline:  23-Jan-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) water

In each country, the main objectives of the planned PER are:
1. To identify strategic programs and activities in the water sector, consistent with its other objectives particularly those related to macroeconomic stability and public financial management
2. To make assessment of the funding gaps and efficiency gaps (both allocative efficiency and technical efficiency) in the water sector and develop appropriate polices for improving efficiency and effective channelization of financial resources to reach agreed sector goals.
3. To support the design and delivery of effective water services.

Continue reading