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鈥檇 be right. But the fact is, the vast majority of climate migrants are actually moving within their country鈥檚 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 鈥 economic, social, political 鈥 and these drivers are often interconnected. A more complete picture of patterns of mobility must now include those moving due to climate change 鈥 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 鈥檚 latest report.
Air pollution is a multifaceted problem 鈥 representing the world鈥檚 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 鈥檚 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鈥檚 damage is being repaired quickly. For the world鈥檚 74 poorest countries, accounting for roughly half of all people living on less than $1.90 a day, the global 鈥渞ecovery鈥 is nowhere to be seen.
Years into civil war, millions of Yemenis are in desperate need of food, shelter and healthcare. Already the poorest country in the Middle East and North Africa, persistent conflict since 2015 has kept Yemen in a relentless state of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has further torn at the seams of thread-bare medical and social protection systems, intensifying the need for urgent action. Amidst this expanse of uncertainty, the stories of the Yemeni people are full of rebuilding, hope and resilience. Read the story of Hassan's family and others, who have been helped by the and its partners.
The global economy is poised to stage its most robust post-recession recovery in 80 years in 2021. But the rebound is expected to be uneven across countries, as major economies look set to register strong growth even as many developing economies lag.
Remittance flows remained resilient in 2020, registering a smaller decline than previously projected. Remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached $540 billion in 2020, just 1.6 percent below the 2019 total of $548 billion, according to the latest 鈥檚 . The decline in 2020 was smaller than the one during the 2009 global financial crisis, mostly due to the fiscal stimulus that resulted in better-than-expected economic conditions in host countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital technologies in African countries, and the latest provides new evidence on how digital is enhancing the productivity of existing jobs and creating new jobs, for people of all skill levels and backgrounds.
