Tag Archives: World Bank Group

Seizing the Moment: Four Priorities to Unlock Job Creation in South Africa

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Originally published in South Africa’s Sunday Times

Governments do not create many jobs—globally, they employ about 10%, and in South Africa only 6-8%, of the workforce. Instead, governments’ role is to create an environment where the private sector can drive employment. However, it is fair to say that South Africa has struggled to create such an environment over the past 15 years, with limited economic growth and job opportunities for its expanding labor force. With unemployment over 30% (excluding discouraged work seekers) and two-thirds of young workers jobless, improving conditions for private sector growth is more urgent than ever. These challenges have kept poverty and inequality entrenched, with nearly 39 million people surviving on less than R127 a day, equivalent to the $6.85 poverty line for upper-middle income countries.

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Further strengthening how we measure global poverty

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For 35 years, the World Bank Group has measured global poverty to track progress toward eradicating what is considered the most severe deprivation of basic human needs—extreme poverty. This goal is at the very heart of our organization’s mission.

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Harnessing the private sector for better development data

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Data is at the heart of development, powering the decisions and investments that help to reduce poverty and build a sustainable future. Yet most national statistical systems in low- and middle-income countries are under-resourced and ill-equipped to provide the timely, granular, and policy-relevant data needed for sound decision-making. Traditional surveys, which are often cross-sectional, infrequent, and costly, struggle to keep up with the blistering pace of economic and social change.

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Small Grants for Big Global Impact

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The world faces a collective action problem: countries naturally prioritize domestic investments while global challenges like climate change, pandemics, and food crises demand joint action. This creates systemic underinvestment in global public goods. Join country and development leaders at the 2025 Hamburg Sustainability Conference, as they explore ways to reshape the international finance to unlock transformative solutions. Discover the World Bank’s Framework for Financial Incentives and IDA’s Global and Regional Opportunities Window—innovative mechanisms that reward countries for projects with cross-border benefits. From energy transformation to water management, learn how small grants through the new Livable Planet Fund make big global impact possible.

Improving Healthcare Access Through Renewable Energy

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On Monday December 23, a sense of normalcy prevailed at Hospital Justinien; the most important hospital in Haiti’s Northern region. This, despite persistent and surprising rain which affected the region for more than a week. Nestled in the heart Haiti’s historic city of Cap-Haitien, the Justinien University Hospital (JUH) is the largest public hospital in northern Haiti and the second-largest teaching hospital in the country. Thanks to a variety of available services, the hospital serves a population of over 1 million from Cap-Haitien and surrounding areas.

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How the World Bank is tackling the growing global waste crisis

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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.

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Improving Transport Connectivity for Food Security in Africa

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Despite increasing food production over the past three decades, 58% of Africans remain food insecure. Transport is an often-overlooked contributor to this challenge. Poor transport connectivity, failures at critical ports and border crossings, and high trade costs create long food supply chains that fail to reliably get staple products to people.

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Meet the Community Champions Shaping a Future with Nature

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In national parks and ecological corridors globally, community champions are fostering harmony between people, wildlife, and other biodiversity, while creating jobs and other economic opportunities in their local areas.

The Global Wildlife Program (GWP) is one of the largest global partnerships created to support country-led initiatives that tackle illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, mitigate human-wildlife conflict and zoonotic spillover risk, and promote wildlife-based livelihoods. With funding from the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank-led program works with community champions across 38 countries, including in South Africa, Indonesia, Mali, and Ecuador.

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World Bank Supports Bangladesh in Flood Risk Reduction and Recovery

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Dhaka, May 14, 2025 — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved $270 million financing to bolster Bangladesh’s flood recovery efforts and enhance its resilience to future disasters, including support for constructing and rehabilitating critical infrastructure, strengthening agricultural system and improving livelihoods in areas devastated by the August 2024 floods. 

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