Ten years ago, the first Syrian refugees fleeing conflict and violence in their home country began arriving in Turkey. What began as a trickle soon became an influx. Today, Turkey is home to more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees, who constitute the vast majority of over 4 million refugees and asylum seekers currently living in country, making Turkey the world’s largest host of refugees.

The magnitude of the refugee influx is nothing that Turkey could have prepared for. With as many as 98.5% of Syrians under temporary protection (SuTPs) now living out of camps in many cities and towns that were already facing significant development obstacles, providing adequate services and support - such as infrastructure, education, housing, and employment - for millions of additional people has been a monumental challenge.

With the help of the World Bank and the European Union, the Government of Turkey unleashed a wide-ranging response to cope with the refugee crisis....

As of June 25, 2021, the World Bank Board approved operations to support vaccine rollout in 41 countries amounting to $3.8 billion.  See the latest project financing, project documents and procurement information in the list below. More information will be shared here as it becomes available. See countries with projects under preparation.

Through this, the World Bank Group is working with partners on the largest vaccination effort in history to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 2, 2020, at the initial COVID-19 response phase, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $6 billion Global COVID-19 Response Program (also called the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program, or SPRP). The program has reached over 100 countries with emergency operations to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19 and strengthen systems for public health preparedness. The timing of potential vaccine development was not known when...

Moderator: • Jonathan Charles, Managing Director, Communications, EBRD.Speakers: • Beata Javorcik, Chief Economist, EBRD.• Gita Gopinath, Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Department, IMF.• Carmen M. Reinhart, Vice President and World Bank Group Chief Economist, World Bank. The economic recession caused by Covid-19 has compounded the trade tensions, inequality and uncertainty that marked the pre-Covid world economy. Other major pre-existing problems such as climate change and environmental degradation are also in need of urgent attention. Furthermore, a long-lasting legacy of the Covid crisis will be significant debt burdens. This panel will discuss the prospects for post-Covid economic recovery and solutions for making the world economy more equitable, sustainable and inclusive for all.

Digitizing government payments requires a strategic approach that involves detailed planning and extensive coordination at various levels. Successful interventions require accurately diagnosing barriers to digitization, improving infrastructure, and revising regulatory and policy frameworks. Such initiatives involve a range of stakeholders, such as government agencies, including the Treasury, payment service providers, and telecom providers.

The World Bank’s technical note Tools for Digitizing Government Payments: Learnings from FISF discusses some available tools for digitizing government payments. The note leverages learnings from various approaches taken under the Financial Inclusion Support Framework (FISF) program, particularly in Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Mozambique, Pakistan, and Zambia.

There are several available tools for digitizing government payments. For instance, a cost-of-payments survey can help uncover the true costs of payments, particularly...

Ukraine registered its first case of COVID-19 in early March 2020. The sample had been sent to a laboratory in Kyiv from a city in the Chernivtsi region, roughly 500 km from the Ukrainian capital. “At that time, it was only possible to analyze a SARS-CoV-2 sample at our laboratory. On the evening of March 2, 2020, we confirmed a positive case from Chernivtsi region. We immediately informed the World Health Organization,” said Iryna Demchyshyna, who is the head of the virology laboratory at the State Institution ‘Public Health Center’ in Kyiv.

Ten days later, the Government of Ukraine would impose a national quarantine in an attempt to contain the pandemic. As the number of cases rose across Ukraine, the country’s healthcare system confronted significant shortages of essential supplies, such as masks, respirators, rapid tests, hospital beds, and medical oxygen.

As of June 10, 2021, the World Bank Board approved operations to support vaccine rollout in 32 countries amounting to $3 billion.  See the latest project financing, project documents and procurement information in the list below. More information will be shared here as it becomes available. See countries with projects under preparation.

Through this, the World Bank Group is working with partners on the largest vaccination effort in history to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 2, 2020, at the initial COVID-19 response phase, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $6 billion Global COVID-19 Response Program (also called the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program, or SPRP). The program has reached over 100 countries with emergency operations to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19 and strengthen systems for public health preparedness. The timing of potential vaccine development was not known when...

As of June 10, 2021, the World Bank Board approved operations to support vaccine rollout in 32 countries amounting to $3 billion.  See the latest project financing, project documents and procurement information in the list below. More information will be shared here as it becomes available. See countries with projects under preparation.

Through this, the World Bank Group is working with partners on the largest vaccination effort in history to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 2, 2020, at the initial COVID-19 response phase, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $6 billion Global COVID-19 Response Program (also called the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program, or SPRP). The program has reached over 100 countries with emergency operations to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19 and strengthen systems for public health preparedness. The timing of potential vaccine development was not known when...