1. Understanding Poverty
  2. Fragility, Conflict and Violence
publication

Mid-Term Review of the World Bank Group Strategy for Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (2020–2025)

Voices from Yemen Displacement MENA 2023

Overview

Fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) is a global challenge. Chronic instability in some of the world’s poorest countries, civil wars, the global shock of the pandemic, and continued climate disasters have created a complex landscape of intertwined risks. Since the implementation of the Strategy on Fragility, Conflict and Violence, the World Bank has strengthened its engagement in FCV settings, but several key challenges have emerged.  Addressing these challenges is critical in responding to the needs of our partners in FCV environments, and to sustain and adapt our operations.

The World Bank has just completed the Mid-term Review (MTR) of the FCV Strategy. The MTR takes stock of the FCV Strategy’s implementation in this challenging global context and identifies where the World Bank needs to adjust and adapt. A Bank-wide effort, the review included extensive consultations with shareholders, the private sector, and key partners.

The MTR found the Strategy fit for purpose, and has identified a number of  ways to make the World Bank more effective in delivering its mission and supporting development outcomes in FCV.

Highlights

  1. The World Bank can remain engaged even in the most challenging FCV situations when there is institutional consensus to do so. Working closely with partners and rapidly adapting operations to cope with mounting risks, the World Bank can help protect human capital, safeguard institutions, preserve development gains, and mitigate the risks of inaction and disengagement.
  2. The World Bank has enhanced support for prevention and transition, but earlier response and greater adaptability to shocks are needed when engaging in increasingly volatile contexts.
  3. The World Bank has successfully supported clients affected by forced displacement and other regional FCV spillovers and is increasingly investing in support to FCV-affected clients on global challenges. Progress on addressing forced displacement offers lessons for engaging in situations with interconnected and compounding risks, like climate change and food insecurity.
  4. The private sector is critical for building resilience and supporting transitions out of FCV, but challenging investment conditions often limit the Bank’s capacity to support private investment and growth, highlighting the importance of developing more integrated approaches.
  5. While attention has been focused on armed conflict and state fragility, greater efforts are needed to address the similarly destructive effects of other forms of violence.

The Way Forward 

The MTR recommend the World Bank adapt its engagement on FCV to a global context marked by overlapping crises by anticipating FCV challenges earlier and better, dynamically responding to challenging contexts, advancing the Bank’s private sector engagement, partnering for better development outcomes, and building strong teams.

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