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WORLD BANK AND WATER

Water Matters: It's Time for Action in Latin America and the Caribbean

Millions of Latin Americans still suffer from water insecurity. Today, 150 million people live in highly water-scarce areas, and climate change is worsening this outlook. According to the World Bank, over the last two decades, Latin America has experienced 74 droughts, causing more than US$ 13 billion in damage. This phenomenon impacts agricultural and livestock production and farmers’ livelihoods, especially those living in vulnerable conditions.

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April 2023 Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable

Time for Meaningful Debt Restructuring

Ahead of the next meeting of the Sovereign Debt Roundtable on April 12, World Bank Group President David Malpass shares an update on recent developments and reiterates his call for prompt action toward debt sustainability for debt distressed countries.

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Food Security

Latest Food Security Update

Our latest update from March 9 shows that domestic food price inflation remains high around the world, with inflation levels above 5% in 94.1% of low-income countries, 86% of lower-middle-income countries, and 87.0% of upper-middle-income countries and many experiencing double-digit inflation. The countries affected most are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia.

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In 2022, the global average score on the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law index rose just half a point to 77.1—indicating women, on average, enjoy barely 77 percent of the legal rights that men do. At the current pace of reform, in many countries a woman entering the workforce today will retire before she will be able to gain the same rights as men, the report notes. This year, 18 countries enacted 34 reforms, the lowest number of reforms in 20 years. But more than half of all reforms captured were implemented in the Sub-Saharan Africa region by seven economies. Learn More.

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