Ousmane Diagana, a Mauritanian national, is the Regional Vice President for Western and Central Africa. Appointed to this role in July 2020, Mr. Diagana manages the Bank relations with 22 countries and oversees a portfolio of projects worth more than $57 billion, and a wide range of analytical work and technical assistance.
Under his leadership, the Bank’s operations in the region adopt a ‘people-centered approach’ focused on strengthening human capital and empowering women and youth, creating more and better jobs, promoting private sector development, supporting critical infrastructure and digital development, and strengthening climate resilience, agricultural productivity and food and water security.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Diagana was the Vice President of Human Resources. In that role, he provided strategic leadership to the institution on talent development and oversaw all HR policies, programs, services to support the Bank Group’s global workforce.
Mr. Diagana has also held positions as Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, and Togo, Country Director for Mali, Niger, Chad, and Guinea, Country Manager for Niger, and Program Leader in Morocco. Mr. Diagana has extensive experience effectively leading diverse, multi-disciplinary teams to deliver innovative strategies and operations —including in fragile and conflict-affected countries. In 2009, Mr. Diagana received the Good Manager Award from the World Bank Group Staff Association in recognition of his leadership skills.
Ousmane Diagana joined the World Bank in 1992. He has degrees in economics, finance, and planning, as well as a certificate in education policies and analysis. Mr. Diagana speaks French, English, Arabic, Soninke, Fulani, and Wolof.
A thriving economy is built on talent. Across Africa, the job market faces a growing shortage of highly skilled professionals in critical fields such as engineering, health, agriculture, digital technologies, and others.
As we mark the International Day of the Girl Child, it is sobering to realize that only 16 million out of more than 37 million adolescent girls in Western and Central Africa are currently enrolled in secondary school.
Nigeria’s potential to emerge as a leading economic powerhouse in Africa is rooted in the hardworking ethos of its citizens, who have proven their excellence both locally and internationally.
In the heart of sub-Saharan Africa, amidst the fields of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, I bore witness to something truly remarkable: the pioneering work being done to elevate agricultural productivity and ensure food security for an entire region.
Education stands as one of the most powerful drivers for constructing a future marked by peace and prosperity. Unfortunately, those children most in need of a good education often find themselves most vulnerable to disruptions, be they caused by conflict, climate crises, pandemics, or other crises.
Corruption harms the poor and vulnerable the most, increasing costs and reducing access to basic services, such as health, education, social programs, and even justice. It exacerbates inequality and reduces private sector investment to the detriment of markets, job opportunities, and economies.
In the current context of global crisis, the future of our farming and food security are closely linked. Soil health and fertilizers, while at the heart of the problem, are also part of the solution.
“When you educate a girl, you educate a nation.” This African proverb resonates with the values passed on to me by my parents and guides my determination to drive change in the region through the education and empowerment of girls and women.
We often forget that life-changing infrastructure – a road, a powerline, or a fiberoptic cable – is a powerful driver for social and economic transformation. It provides a window of opportunity that opens up and facilitates the movement of people, products, and services.
Never before have African countries felt such a sense of urgency to act, adapt and build resilience. Every year, people are experiencing more floods, soaring temperatures, coastal erosion, land degradation and other climatic shocks. In western and central Africa, recent floods across the region have affected millions of people, claiming lives and displacing tens of thousands from their homes and livelihoods.
As crises multiply and the devastating conflict in Ukraine drags on, its global effects are being felt hard in the Sahel and West Africa, a region with more than 38 million people facing acute food insecurity. The war’s impacts risk pushing an additional 7 to 10 million people in the region into food insecurity.
Ousmane Diagana, the West and Central Africa vice-president of the World Bank explains the Bretton Woods institution's positioning and priorities on the continent. In this long interview, he pushes back against the familiar critique of rigidity and economic orthodoxy.
The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated wage and occupational inequalities between men and women. As we look towards the recovery from the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic, we must use this as an opportunity to rebuild societies that will provide women and men with equal opportunities in the working world.
In accordance with the rule and spirit of each of our Sahelian countries, and the conviction that the prosperity of nations and social inclusion in our fragile environments are at stake, education for all has always been at the core of our development strategies
In partnership with Jeune Afrique, the World Bank organized an unprecedented debate on the complicated issue of African populations' distrust of their institutions and ways to restore trust. Here are the main takeaways.
On the shores of the coastal Senegalese city of Saint Louis, climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is already a current issue impacting the people who live there. Hundreds have had to flee the devastating effects of rising sea levels and erosion, leaving behind their livelihoods, aspirations and opportunities.
In the Central African Republic, access to higher education is a rare privilege: on average, a Central African child is enrolled in school for only 4.6 years of his or her life. Central African women and young girls like Géraldine are especially vulnerable to a range of risks and obstacles: early pregnancy, gender-based violence, and high rates of maternal mortality (824/100,000). Géraldine's journey is therefore all the more impressive, given the many complex challenges in her path.
Just before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck, just over half of the world’s population approximately (51%) had access to the internet compared with just 30% in Western and Central Africa. With the strict lockdown implemented during the pandemic, many services were only available to people across the region through the internet.
Ousmane Diagana is the Vice-President of the World Bank for West and Central Africa. He oversees these two very different sub-regions each with its own sets of challenges and needs. Eleven of the 22 countries in West and Central Africa are classified as ‘fragile state’. His operational portfolio is around $50bn to help turn these countries around. What are his plans? Interview by Hichem Ben Yaïche and Nicolas Bouchet.
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