The war in Ukraine could not have come at a worse time for the global economy—when the recovery from the pandemic-induced contraction had begun to falter. The explains how the Ukraine crisis could make it harder for many low- and middle-income economies to regain their footing. Besides higher commodity prices, the fallout is likely to arrive through several other vectors, including trade shocks. Countries closest to the conflict-due to trade and other links-are likely to suffer the greatest immediate harm. But the effects could ripple far beyond.
World Bank
The World Development Report 2022: Finance for an Equitable Recovery, examines the central role of finance in the economic recovery from the pandemic.
The (7-15 March), offers a platform for the global community to gather and gauge the way it has been responding to fragility, conflict, and violence over the past decade and how to move forward.
After rebounding in 2021, global growth is expected to decelerate markedly in 2022, reflecting continued COVID-19 flare-ups, diminished fiscal support, and lingering supply bottlenecks.
Creative Development with IFC - S1E2
Makhtar Diop about how music can help raise awareness of a changing climate, give voice to the issues that matter to people, and bring people together to make change happen. He also discusses his efforts to combat desertification in the Sahel and to raise awareness for gender equality.
Photo Credit: IFC
People have eaten foraged insects and hydroponic crops for hundreds of years, but farming them is new. These technologies have huge potential to provide human food and animal feed all year round, and are more cost effective in places with limited resources. Farming them also protects the environment and climate, helps the economy, and provide jobs. .
From uneven economic recovery to unequal access to vaccines; from widening income losses to divergence in learning, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on the poor and vulnerable in 2021. It is causing reversals in development and is dealing a setback to efforts to end extreme poverty and reduce inequality. Because of the pandemic, extreme poverty rose in 2020 for the first time in over 20 years. Through this series of charts and graphs, we share select research from the World Bank Group that illustrates the severity of the pandemic.
Remittances to low- and middle-income countries are projected to have grown a strong 7.3 percent to reach $589 billion in 2021, the reports.
The COVID-19 pandemic could drive up the share of 10-year-olds who cannot read a basic text, to around 70 percent in low- and middle-income countries, according to preliminary analysis from an upcoming report. This rise is a result of the prolonged school closures and poor learning outcomes despite government efforts to deliver remote learning. In many of these countries, schools have been closed for as many as 200 to 250 days, and many have yet to reopen.
When you think of climate migration, you probably think of people moving from one country to another to escape rising seas or expanding deserts. And to some extent, you’d be right. But the fact is, the vast majority of climate migrants are actually moving within their country’s borders Hotspots of climate migration may start to emerge as early as 2030, as people leave places that can no longer sustain them and go to areas that offer opportunities. The drivers of these migrations, according to the , will be water scarcity, declining crop productivity and sea-level rise.
The commits to increase climate finance targets to 35% of total commitments over the next five years, align financing flows with the Paris Agreement, and integrate climate and development.
People pack up and leave their homes for many reasons – economic, social, political – and these drivers are often interconnected. A more complete picture of patterns of mobility must now include those moving due to climate change – a trend expected to increase over time - as people journey from one part of their countries to another. Over 216 million people could move within their countries by 2050 across six regions, according to the ’s latest report.
Air pollution is a multifaceted problem – representing the world’s leading environmental risk to health, costing the globe an estimated $8.1 trillion in 2019. Air pollution is also deadly, causing or contributing to heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases and killing an estimated seven million people every year. 95 percent of these deaths occur in low- and middle- income countries. As such, tackling air pollution is a component of the ’s mission to eradicate poverty and promote shared prosperity. Less obvious is what can be done to address this problem.
If you are between 18 and 35 years, the invites you to submit a 1-min video OR in a photo identifying 3 possible actions to build a greener, more inclusive future.
Global growth is surging again, only a year after COVID-19 triggered the deepest recession since World War II. According to the , this year is likely to mark : global GDP is expected to expand 5.6 percent. Almost all advanced economies will go back to their pre-pandemic per-capita income levels in 2022. In some parts of the world, the pandemic’s damage is being repaired quickly. For the world’s 74 poorest countries, accounting for roughly half of all people living on less than $1.90 a day, the global “recovery” is nowhere to be seen.