But not all African countries have benefited from this access, among which are West African countries. Paradoxically, West Africa hosts two of the most advanced regional economic communities. Obviously, something more is needed. In a recent working paper, I do some back-of-the-envelope simulations derived from estimated coefficients of a Pseudo Poisson Maximum Likelihood gravity model estimation using disaggregated export data between and Coulibaly, S.
West Africa could be exporting 2. It will also trigger three channels of regional spillovers:. For instance, the governments of East, Central, South, and West African neighborhoods could commit to:. Protecting poor people: To protect poor and vulnerable citizens and respond to the impact on their livelihoods, the Bank is helping African countries to scale up and adapt social safety net programs and ensure food security by supporting farmers to expand agricultural production as well as sustain food supply chains.
Protecting and creating jobs: Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, which provide the majority of jobs, have been particularly hard hit across the region where informal firms dominate employment.
Public works and urban programs are being launched or scaled up to facilitate job creation in low income communities and to help increase access to livelihood support for extremely poor and vulnerable people like women and the youth. More than 20 SSA countries in have requested development policy operations or budget support from the Bank to assist them to manage the fiscal impacts of the pandemic.
These operations are focusing on supporting governments to mitigate the effects of the COVID pandemic, and at the same time promoting reforms that will create the conditions for economic recovery. It supports initiatives in favor of climate change adaptation and mitigation and deploys an approach to address the drivers of Fragility, Conflict and Violence. Finally, the World Bank is scaling up its work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent to improve connectivity, leverage economies of scale, and advance collective action to address shared challenges.
Research and analysis : Knowledge is essential for governments to make better policies and institutions to make aid more effective.
This paired with strong analytical work by sector can help promote substantive discussions and drive evidence-based policy making around key development issues. Swift detection, early testing and rapid response require cross-border collaboration and strong solidarity among neighboring countries and with the international community to combat the spread of infectious diseases. Both projects have mobilized resources to help countries procure laboratory equipment and increase their capacities to address the COVID pandemic.
Together with governments, regional institutions, and development partners, the World Bank has expanded multi-sectoral programs with immediate and long-term solutions that invest in women and girls. In Zambia, the Girls Education and Women Empowerment and Livelihood project GEWEL has so far provided more than 28, girls from poor households with secondary school bursaries and 75, poor women with livelihood packages, including, life and business skills training, mentorship, and support through savings groups.
Green, resilient, and inclusive approaches will not only help to create new jobs, market opportunities, and economic savings but will also support the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient development that benefits everyone.
In Togo, the Novissi platform delivers contactless, emergency cash transfers based on machine learning techniques and mobile money. Between November and March , 57, new beneficiaries were prioritized for contactless, social protection payments through the use of predictive algorithms.
Across the continent, the Bank has led Digital Economy Country Diagnostics DE4A in over 20 countries to assess the current state of the digital economy, with 15 more countries requesting diagnostics in FY Energy access remains a challenge in Africa where one in three people are still without access to electricity. To address this challenge, the World Bank Group is helping to increase access to affordable reliable and sustainable energy across Africa.
Existing operations support grid extension and expansion of transmission networks, innovative off-grid electrification solutions, expansions of renewable generation capacity, development of regional power pools, and improvement of service efficiency. A solar energy project in Burundi will almost double the rate of electricity access in the country by expanding access to rural families, local enterprises, schools and health centers in some of the poorest areas of the country.
The Increased Access to Modern Energy Project in Benin provided 24, new households access to gas cooking equipment and 25, households access to improved cookstoves. Despite the encouraging economic development enjoyed by many African countries during the last decade, many of them are still characterized by widespread poverty and inequality. Weak institutions make it difficult, especially in fragile economies, to deal with calamities such as the recent Ebola crisis or the serious drought that is impacting several countries in Unemployment and underemployment of youth and women endanger social cohesion and inclusive development.
This will be done through a catalytic approach where the Bank will continue investing in infrastructure and in improving access to basic services such as water and sanitation.
The Bank will also continue its work promoting an enabling human development policy environment as well as strengthening institutions that deliver basic services, particularly in health systems in countries most vulnerable to epidemics, such as Ebola and Cholera. Central to this initiative will be an emphasis on job creation, for which the Bank has prepared a Jobs for Youth in Africa JfYA strategy.
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