When cities invest in tourism, they invest in jobs, entrepreneurship, and growth. Marrakech is a compelling example. In 2024, the city welcomed nearly 4 million tourists, each one supporting livelihoods from hotel staff to street vendors, guides to artisans. Multiply that impact across the world’s cities, and it becomes clear why urban tourism is a powerful driver […]
In the words of President Julius Maada Bio, “access to safe water and sanitation is not a favor extended to the few, but a right guaranteed to all.” Many households in Sierra Leone still dream of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) instead of experiencing it daily. Children spend mornings fetching water instead of going […]
As consumers, we have grown accustomed to blazing-fast deliveries with a click of an app —sometimes in as little as 10 minutes. While we enjoy this speed and convenience, we rarely pause to consider the added safety risks placed on delivery drivers racing against the clock. Commercial motorcycles are more than just vehicles, they are […]
The number of people fleeing war and persecution worldwide has nearly tripled since the early 2010s, challenging European policymakers to ensure swift integration of asylum seekers into the labour market. This column assesses a pilot programme in Italy that provides early, personalised labour market support to asylum seekers. Even in resource-constrained settings, the early targeted […]
“When I tried to find work in the handmade hammock industry, a traditional craft in my area, I only lasted two months because I had no one to care for my two-year-old son,” shares Keylin Aguilera, a young rural woman from Orocuina, Honduras. You may find that this is a common scenario across rural Honduras, […]
In the quest to promote women’s rights and opportunities and reduce intimate-partner violence (IPV), well-intentioned programs can sometimes yield results opposed to their goal. A recent paper sheds light on the surprising and concerning outcome of an IPV prevention program in Rwanda. The program, designed to improve communication and promote gender equality among couples, unexpectedly led to a […]
Imagine getting to work on a program that will bring internet access and digitally enabled services to 180 million people. Opportunities like these illustrate the meaningful role institutions like the World Bank, and teams across the institution like ours, can play in addressing urgent development challenges that can drastically improve people’s lives. In Eastern and […]
