Highlights from the World Bank Group’s operational work
Horn of Africa: The 2017 Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP), is a $428 million regional operation in the Horn of Africa covering Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, which seeks to mitigate the social, economic and environmental impacts of protracted refugee presence. It invests in improving access to education, health, water facilities and road access; as well as expanding economic opportunities and enhancing environmental management for communities hosting refugees. As of September 2020, 630 community infrastructure subprojects have been completed, providing improved access to social and economic services and infrastructure for over 2.5 million people and 330,000 days of paid labor for construction work. This has meant that 74,000 people have improved access to energy, 82,000 beneficiaries have reported increased income, and sustainable land management practices have been adopted on 19,000 hectares of land.
Yemen: The Yemen Integrated Urban Services Emergency Project is restoring basic services in some of Yemen’s cities hardest hit by the ongoing conflict. To date, more than three million beneficiaries have regained access to critical urban services, 266 kilometers of roads and streets have been rehabilitated, and 1,200,000 people have access to clean water and sanitation while over a million tons of accumulated trash have been safely disposed of. In addition, 106,000 megawatt hours of clean solar energy have been provided to 205 hospitals and schools.
Central African Republic: With about a quarter of its population displaced, the situation in CAR has the potential to destabilize fragile neighboring countries. The Bank’s Londo (“Stand Up”) Project provides temporary employment to vulnerable people through national labor-intensive public works programs –most recently, producing millions of face masks to control the spread of COVID-19. The project has successfully deployed in rebel-controlled areas and set examples in partnering with peacekeeping forces and the humanitarian community.
Sahel: The Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend project (SWEDD) approved in December 2014 is helping empower adolescent girls, and women, and increase their access to quality education and reproductive, child and maternal health services in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. About 160,000 girls and adolescents have received a scholarship to go to school since 2015 and over 3,400 safe spaces have been established where about 120,000 out-of-school girls are taught life skills, sexual reproductive health knowledge, literacy, and numeracy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus is on helping adolescents return to school and preventing gender-based violence.
Lebanon: The National Volunteer Service Program seeks to increase social cohesion and employability among Lebanese youth aged 15-24 through the delivery of soft skills training and the promotion of civic engagement for improved social service delivery. To date, more than 7,000 youths and 150 different municipalities, NGOs, schools, and universities have been directly involved in the project’s activities. This project is supported by the State and Peacebuilding Fund and the Middle East and North Africa Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
See more World Bank results in situations affected by fragility, conflict and violence.
Sharing Knowledge to Promote Peaceful and Inclusive Societies
The Fragility Forum 2022, which was organized as a virtual event for the second time due to concerns around COVID-19, brought together more than 5,000 participants from across the development, humanitarian, diplomatic and security communities to share their knowledge under the theme “Development and Peace in Uncertain Times.”
Last Updated: Apr 13, 2022