According to new research by the World Bank, approximately 412 million children under age 18 are living in extreme poverty (less than US$3/day) in 2024. While that number is still […]
The heads of 30 African nations have endorsed a plan to provide “reliable, affordable and sustainable” electricity to 300 million people who currently do not have regular access across the continent over the next five years. The plan is expected not only to boost renewable energy and economic opportunity around the continent, but also support new jobs. The World Bank has committed $30 billion to the plan, while the AfDB pledged $10 billion. The Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank pledged $1 billion in financing, while the Islamic Development Bank committed $4.65 billion.
The deal comes as part of a debt forgiveness program —called the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative— overseen by the IMF and the World Bank. As a result of its participation in the program, Somalia’s external debt will fall from 64% of GDP in 2018 to less than 6% of GDP by the end of 2023.
The SWEDD+ project has the potential to directly benefit over 2 million vulnerable girls aged between 10 to 19 years old who are at risk of child marriage, early pregnancy, gender-based violence, and leaving school in Burkina Faso, Chad, Senegal, The Gambia, and Togo.
The global bank’s policy research team said the poverty headcount in the country has dropped from 22.5% in 2011 to 10.2% in 2019 with rural areas showing better results.
India is now replanting its mangroves in one of the largest restoration programs in the world. Since 2010, the World Bank has supported the community-managed plantation of 20,000 hectares of mangroves in India.
The World Bank has announced a 10-year Global Sustainable Development bond on May 16. The investment goal of €1.5 billion was significantly oversubscribed, reaching €2 billion from 69 investors.
World Bank Group is providing USD$22.5 billion to Africa for climate mitigation and adaptation across five years beginning with 2021, adding to the $17 billion already committed through the Africa Climate Business Plan.
The MDBs’ commitment goes beyond specific MDBs’ 2020 and 2030 climate finance targets, and builds on their ongoing contribution to climate finance, which amounted to US$35 billion in developing and emerging economies in 2017.
The World Bank said the move represented a significantly ramped up ambition to tackle climate change, sending an important signal to the wider global community to do the same.
