Every year, the world produces over two billion tonnes of municipal waste, a figure expected to rise by 73 percent to nearly four billion tonnes by 2050. Managing this surge will be a major investment and policy challenge for cities in low- and middle-income countries.
Continue readingThe World Bank Group has set a clear mission: ending poverty and boosting shared 
prosperity on a livable planet. This report offers the first post-pandemic assessment of global progress toward these interlinked goals, and explores potential pathways out of today’s polycrisis – an environment where multiple and interconnected challenges are impacting the world simultaneously. The report’s messages are presented around progress in terms of the goals, pathways to move forward, and priorities depending on where countries stand on the interlinked goals.
In an era of overlapping and often intertwined crises, how well countries can prepare for and respond to shocks is crucial. The World Bank Group’s recently launched expanded Crisis Toolkit equips developing countries to do just that, whether they’re faced with natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes, or public health emergencies like pandemics. This expanded Crisis Toolkit is designed to fill gaps based on lessons learned from previous crisis response, and substantially expands tools available to countries to protect them in times of crisis and enable faster and more effective recovery from disasters.
Join us on this episode of Expert Answers as Ed Mountfield, Vice President, Operations Policy and Country Services, explains how this toolkit will empower countries in the face of crises, putting them on a path toward resilient, sustainable development.
00:00 Introducing the topic and expert
01:50 World Bank’s Expanded Crisis Toolkit
03:03 How the toolkit helps client countries
05:38 Crisis preparedness
08:08 Closure
February 1, 2024 —The World Bank today approved a suite of groundbreaking tools to help developing countries better respond to crises and strengthen preparedness for future shocks. These new tools will further expand the Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit unveiled recently, empowering nations in a world where crises have become the “new normal,” driving impactful development, and ultimately contributing to creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet.
The expanded Crisis Toolkit fills gaps based on lessons learned from previous crisis response and substantially expands tools available to countries to ensure comprehensive protection in times of crisis. The newest tools will offer countries:
Fast access to cash for emergency response, which will be done through flexible resource reallocation. This will include the Rapid Response Option, allowing countries to quickly repurpose a portion of their unused Bank financing across their portfolio to address emergency needs when a crisis occurs. For instance, in the event of a hurricane, a government will have the capability to efficiently repurpose undisbursed funds from long-term infrastructure projects like roads and bridges to ensure the immediate availability of food and shelter for its citizens.
Substantially scaled up access to pre-arranged financing for emergency response, strengthening countries’ financial capacity and preparedness for future crises. The Bank will provide new flexibility to help countries put in place more contingent resources in preparation to future crises. It will also expedite access to new financing for budget support when disasters hit. This will equip them with immediately accessible money to manage the impact of a disaster and support their citizens, with fewer trade-offs between their development priorities and emergency financing needs. Countries will undertake crisis preparedness reforms and other institutional strengthening measures to further leverage these new tools, which will foster resilience in the long run.
Expanded catastrophe insurance, offering increased protection against large-scale disasters. Building on existing tools such as catastrophe bonds, the Bank Group will offer all countries the option to embed catastrophe bonds, insurance, and other risk management products into their Bank financing operations. Governments then could be eligible for a payout from an insurance mechanism in the event of a crisis, without having to take on more debt at that time. This approach will mobilize private capital and pass the risks of high-intensity but low-frequency disasters to international reinsurance and capital markets. Working with donors, the Bank Group is also aiming to ensure these insurance products are accessible to lower-income countries.
The new measures will work hand-in-hand with other key components of the expanded Crisis Toolkit. Announced in June, the Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDC) will allow small states to prioritize disaster recovery over debt repayment when catastrophes hit, so they can focus on maintaining access to clean water, food, and power instead of paying loan bills. The Bank Group has expanded the CRDC to cover all existing loans in eligible countries, allowing borrowers to defer interest and fee payments, and enabling fees to be covered by concessional resources.
The World Bank Group is also strengthening support to private sector clients in crisis preparedness and response, enabling businesses to sustain operations and protect jobs, building resilience and long-term sustainability. The International Finance Corporation is designing a private sector-led crisis response solution to help financial institutions mitigate the impact of natural disasters resulting from climate change. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is working with lenders and the private insurance industry to better integrate the impacts of climate change on loans to the public sector with instruments such as parametric risk insurance.
The World Bank Group has been a steadfast partner to developing countries through crises – from early risk assessments and crisis financing strategies to a diverse array of financial instruments for disaster response. This includes continued support for crisis prevention, preparedness, and resilience through our knowledge agenda, such as our Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) and reflected in the full alignment of financing with the Paris Agreement. The expanded Toolkit marks a major milestone in the World Bank Group’s Evolution, furthering its commitment to better assist countries in the challenging era of crises.
The World Bank is taking bold new steps to increase its lending capacity, a major boost in firepower that will give millions of people a chance to escape poverty and improve their lives. At this critical moment in history, and echoing the calls from the international community, the Bank is doubling down to tackle intertwined challenges – jobs, climate, fragility, and pandemics. These efforts entail decisive action to build a better Bank to achieve a world free of poverty on a livable planet.
Beer is 95% water (the rest is alcohol and gas). In Lubango, a city on a high plateau in
Southern Angola, the makers of N’Gola beer depend heavily on a water source of exceptional quality. Rainwater seeps into the vertical crevasses of Tundavala, breathtaking rock formations 2,200 meters above sea level. It collects in the rock then rushes downhill to Lubango, producing at times 200 cubic meters of water per hour. The source is so special it is mentioned on the N’Gola beer label and stylized as a golden waterfall with a crown.
Around the world, nearly 1 in 5 youth ages 15-24 are unemployed, or part of the labor force
but without a job. Among children ages 10-19, 1 in 7 experience a mental disorder. Nearly 6 in 10 ten-year-old children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and comprehend a simple paragraph. These numbers do not bode well for future innovation and economic growth. By 2050, the people who are under 25 today will compose more than 90 percent of the prime-age workforce.
Solving the water crisis is central to our future on a livable planet. Whether it is too much, too little, or too polluted water, this triple threat, exacerbated by climate change, denies billions of people reliable access to safe water and sanitation. It threatens economies, fuels migration, and can ignite conflict. We need global action to establish water security for green, resilient, and inclusive growth, and to tackle the water-climate-conflict nexus.
Continue readingWorld Water Week 2023 is focused on innovation at a time of unprecedented challenges.
The theme, Seeds of Change: Innovative Solutions for a Water-Wise World, invites a rethink of how water is managed, and urges consideration of the ideas, innovations, and governance systems that are needed in an increasingly unstable and water scarce world.
The World Bank is taking bold new steps to increase its lending capacity, a major boost in firepower that will give millions of people a chance to escape poverty and improve their lives. At this critical moment in history, and echoing the calls from the international community, the Bank is doubling down to tackle intertwined challenges – jobs, climate, fragility, and pandemics. These efforts entail decisive action to build a better Bank to achieve a world free of poverty on a livable planet.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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