Stories of resilience from Madagascar, the Central African Republic, and Egypt
Are climate change and drought connected? We asked Richard Damania, the World Bank’s
Chief Economist for Sustainable Development, and two experts from the Bank’s Sustainable Development unit: Senior Economist Esha Zaveri and Senior Climate Change Specialist Nathan Engle. The three are authors of the paper, Droughts and Deficits: Summary Evidence of the Global Impact on Economic Growth.
This blog originally appeared in the Project Syndicate on September 8, 2023
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.
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.
“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.”
Domestic food price inflation remains high around the world. Information from the latest month between October 2022 and January 2023 for which food price inflation data are available shows high inflation in almost all low- and middle-income countries, with inflation levels above 5% in 88.9% of low-income countries, 87.8% of lower-middle-income countries, and 93.0% of upper-middle-income countries and many experiencing double-digit inflation. In addition, about 87.3% of high-income countries are experiencing high food price inflation. The countries affected most are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia.
In a world characterized by high country income differentials, rising food insecurity, and the
proliferation of conflicts, international migration is viewed by many as the path to a (better) life. Unsurprisingly, concerns are also rising in destination countries about an undue influx of migrants, especially economic migrants, fuelling antimigrant sentiment and policies.
A paradoxical narrative is further taking hold that development, and by extension development assistance, would increase (as opposed to reduce) migratory pressures, at least in first instance, and that the effect of development aid on migratory pressures has been small at best.
Deadline: 14-Dec-2018 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)
Objective: The main objectives of this consultancy assignment are to (1) conduct a review on the design and operation of early warning systems operating in Ethiopia which are used to trigger and inform food and cash support to drought affected households; (2) advise on improved protocols and monitoring systems and tools for alert triggering; and (3) provide concrete options for the design of an enhanced and scalable social safety net system based on early warning information.
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Deadline: 03-Dec-2018 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) 
The main objectives of this consultancy assignment are to (1) conduct a review on the design and operation of early warning systems operating in Ethiopia which are used to trigger and inform food and cash support to drought affected households; (2) advise on improved protocols and monitoring systems and tools for alert triggering; and (3) provide concrete options for the design of an enhanced and scalable social safety net system based on early warning information.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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