Human Capital Umbrella Trust Fund Program: Publications

The Human Capital Umbrella Trust Fund Program, launched in 2019 with support from the Gates Foundation and the Government of Canada, catalyzes investments in people through a comprehensive, evidence-based approach. Since its inception, activities funded by the Umbrella Program have informed 29 World Bank-financed operations, totaling more than $8.5 billion in lending. Working across sectors and government agencies, the program drives lasting social and economic transformation through three key pillars: knowledge and measurement, country engagement, and global collaboration.

Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Government of Canada, the Human Capital Umbrella Program serves as a catalyst for accelerating investments in people. The Program continued to advance its work through a whole-of-government approach to support evidence-based initiatives across sectors to foster lasting social and economic transformation. Through analytical work and strategic initiatives, the program influences project design and implementation to effectively advance human capital outcomes. 

The 2022 Annual Report highlights program results in 18 countries in Africa and South Asia. The Umbrella Program mainstreams and embeds a human capital approach to development, and collectively addresses challenges through multisectoral action—a ‘whole-of-government’ approach—yielding results at scale in high priority countries and globally.

The Advancing Human Capital Outcomes Globally Multi-Donor Trust Fund was established in November 2019 with a contribution by the Gates Foundation. In March 2021 it formally became the “Human Capital Umbrella Program” and received an additional commitment from the government of Canada. The Umbrella Program is an agile financing mechanism designed to support catalytic initiatives focused on accelerating human capital outcomes, and it is aligned with the multisectoral development objectives of the Human Capital Project (HCP) at the World Bank Group (WBG).