WASHINGTON, June 10, 2021 –The World Bank today approved a $200 million Ghana COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project Second Additional Financing. In collaboration with the COVAX Facility COVID-19 vaccine acquisition the project will provide financing to support the Government of Ghana to procure and deploy COVID-19 vaccines for 13 million people in Ghana. The project will also strengthen the resilience of Ghana’s health systems to better prepare for the future pandemic and to secure the continuation of essential health and nutrition services, including routine childhood immunization.

Ghana experienced a surge in infections and fatalities in January 2021, entering a second wave of rising infections of COVID-19. The number of daily active cases in February 2021 was as high as the peak of the first wave in June 2020. Furthermore, Ghana was also confirmed to have recorded the COVID-19 variant, which first appeared...

This report examines the link between water and migration, and the implications for economic development. The report is based on analysis of the largest data set on internal migration ever assembled, covering nearly half a billion people from 189 population censuses in 64 countries from 1960 to 2015. It assesses how rainfall shocks are related to migration relative to other key variables such as age, gender, education, and household size.  The report is in two parts. Volume 1 covers water, migration, and development. Volume 2 focuses on water, forced displacement and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa.

As of July 29, 2021, the World Bank approved operations to support vaccine rollout in 54 countries amounting to $4.6 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. 

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 the SPRP was approved, but global vaccine development efforts...

The International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization have joined forces to accelerate access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics by leveraging multilateral finance and trade solutions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The aim is to vaccinate at least 40 percent of people in every country by the end of 2021, and at least 60 percent by mid-2022.  The effort will track, coordinate, and advance delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, working with governments and partners at the global and local levels to address finance and trade barriers to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to these life-saving tools. It supports the goals of the ACT-Accelerator and complementary initiatives.

The Multilateral Leaders Task Force members are mobilizing critical financing, with a focus on grants and concessional lending; helping to...

Ground Experiences from around the Island  

Sri Lanka’s extensive network of public healthcare workers has been the underlying force behind the country’s pandemic response. This series of articles, beginning with the Puttalam District, aims to capture the ground realities of pandemic management, from the perspectives of public health workers around the country.

The Pandemic in Puttalam

“COVID 19 came to Puttalam before it reached other parts of the island,” says Consultant Community Physician Dr. Thushani Dabrera, focal point for Puttalam’s COVID 19 response strategy.

Having worked as an epidemiologist in Puttalam since 2007, Dr. Dabrera knew the district well. She knew its people, its geography, its unique customs, and most importantly it’s public healthcare network. “Puttalam has had a somewhat different experience with the pandemic, due to certain unique risk factors in this region,” says Dr. Dabrera, adding, “to cope, our...

PROGRAM UPDATE: The World Bank and IFC have merged their respective Young Professionals Programs into one World Bank Group Young Professionals Program (WBG YPP).

The new program is now accepting applications on behalf of three institutions (the World Bank, IFC and MIGA).  Building on the rich legacy of its predecessor programs, the WBG YPP will recruit and develop future leaders to collaborate effectively across our institutions on joint WBG solutions to development challenges.

Young Professionals are recruited from around the world, with preference to nationals of WBG member countries and countries of operations. We welcome all qualified individuals from diverse professional, academic, and cultural backgrounds to apply.

Follow the latest at #IDAworks4Africa | Watch the Recording of the Event

This meeting of African leaders—hosted by President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire—will highlight the importance of an ambitious and robust 20th replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA20). The replenishment will support a resilient recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and help the continent continue its economic transformation.

Heads of State from the following countries are expected to attend: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.

As African countries grapple with the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, continued support from the World Bank, particularly from IDA, is critical to help them meet their financing needs, which were already high before...

Loss of nature and biodiversity worldwide has become a crisis. The World Bank Group’s approach paper on biodiversity and ecosystem services, Unlocking Nature-Smart Development, argues that the global nature crisis is both a systemic risk for development and a development opportunity. The report proposes six global response areas to guide governments and inform broader discussions on how to integrate nature into development planning.

The International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization have joined forces to accelerate access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics by leveraging multilateral finance and trade solutions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The aim is to vaccinate at least 40 percent of people in every country by the end of 2021, and at least 60 percent by mid-2022.  The effort will track, coordinate, and advance delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, working with governments and partners at the global and local levels to address finance and trade barriers to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to these life-saving tools. It supports the goals of the ACT-Accelerator and complementary initiatives.

The Multilateral Leaders Task Force members are mobilizing critical financing, with a focus on grants and concessional lending; helping to...

The mountain Kingdom of Lesotho like many countries is no stranger to disasters. The landlocked small state of 2.2 million people is continually buffeted by multiple shocks, primarily drought but also flooding, frost, hail and storms. The country was in the throes of responding to a catastrophic drought as the COVID-19 coronavirus insipidly yet inevitably advanced into Sub-Saharan Africa in February 2020. This drought was so severe that the UN said it was ‘one step away from famine’ - highlighting the acute risk of compound shocks in Lesotho which jeopardize efforts to improve the lives of Basotho. In early 2021, still battling against the incessant COVID-19 pandemic, Lesotho was hit by heavy rains that caused infrastructure damage, worsening the already critical situation.

Indeed, disasters and their consequences to people and the economy consistently pressure the budget and progress on the development agenda. The Disaster Risk...

KATHMANDU, August 13, 2021 – Nepal is the second country globally to have completed agreements with GAVI to procure 4 million doses of Moderna vaccines, financed by the World Bank, through the COVAX cost-share option. This will diversify and strengthen the country’s COVID-19 vaccine portfolio.

“Nepal is an early mover in utilizing the COVAX cost-share scheme, and I am pleased to note that we have finalized an arrangement, despite very challenging circumstances, to bring safe and highly effective vaccines to Nepal,” said Umesh Shrestha, Minister of State for Health and Population. “Moderna vaccines have helped expand options for vaccinating Nepalis above 12 years of age and fast-track Nepal’s progress towards a safer post-COVID world.”

Delivery of these vaccines is expected to start by March 2022 and will contribute to Nepal’s goal to vaccinate at least 72 percent of its population, as well as children 12-17 years of age for whom the...