Tag Archives: BZ
The hidden cost of water in Europe and Central Asia
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.

Introducing Senior Advisor Alain Ancion
I’ve traded field boots for Board papers, but I still keep the map handy. Since last September, I’ve been Senior Advisor and (the most magical job title ever) temporary permanent alternate ED, in the Dutch Executive Director’s Office at the World Bank, where my portfolio spans the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE), trade, procurement, and a mix of regional and thematic files.
Before the Boardroom, my compass pointed firmly toward the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I built extensive field experience in the Western Balkans as regional security coordinator on counter‑terrorism issues, and in Kenya as Deputy Ambassador for Somalia, leading a cross‑ministerial team drawn from four ministries.
Continue readingCountries and Co-Financiers Working Together to Power Regional Energy Integration in Western Africa
The Development Challenge
Access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is key to unlocking Africa’s socio-economic transformation. This is the focus of Mission 300, an ambitious effort between the World Bank and the African Development Bank, amongst other partners, to connect 300 million people to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. With electricity comes new opportunities for jobs, trade, and investment, as well as better schools, hospitals, and other essential services. Lives change. In 2020, only 52 percent of the population in Western and Central Africa had access to electricity services. Reaching those without access, including over 220 million people in Western Africa, requires overcoming challenges related to geography, high electricity costs, weak institutional capacity, and political instability.
Continue readingAs Ebola Wanes, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and World Look to Curb Next Pandemic
May 17th By Melanie Mayhew, World Bank Group
Every day for 27 years, in the early morning blackness that only fishermen know, John* and his crew dislodged their boat from Sierra Leone’s shore and paddled north toward Guinea, returning at sunset with nets flopping with fish.
Today John stands in a few inches of water in the port of Aberdeen, Sierra Leone, gazing at the colorful boats skirting the horizon, wishing he could return to the sea. It’s been a year since he captained a boat, a year since he fished.

