Beirut, Lebanon, November 20, 2025 — The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced five new investments and engagements aimed at expanding access to finance and energy, supporting the growth of Lebanon’s manufacturing sector, and creating employment opportunities across the country. The announcements were made during the Beirut One investor… [Read More]
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How Generali and UNDP Are Boosting MSME Resilience in Asia
Generali, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), hosted the regional conference “Protecting the Future: Building MSME Resilience in Asia” in Bangkok on 21 November 2025. The initiative focuses on strengthening the resilience of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Asia against rising risks, emphasizing access to insurance and sustainable business growth…. [Read More]
Egypt’s School Bank Initiative: How Early Financial Education Is Shaping a Smarter Generation
Financial education is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity, especially in a country where young people make up 60% of the population. Egypt has embraced this reality through the groundbreaking School Bank initiative, led by the Central Bank of Egypt in partnership with the Ministry of Education, to equip children with the skills needed for… [Read More]
How Grant Funding Helped a Kenyan Recycler Create Jobs from Waste
A Nairobi-based glass recycling company has rapidly expanded over the past five years, growing its workforce from 60 to 140 employees and reaching an annual revenue of $800,000. Its growth was supported by a $36,000 grant from the World Bank-funded Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP), which, through the MbeleNaBiz initiative, has helped 750… [Read More]
Building Lasting Growth: How Good Governance Is Transforming Sarawak
Thirty-eight-year-old journalist Norman Goh, originally from Kuching in Sarawak, reflects on how the state has evolved and how good governance can unlock its potential. Now based in Kuala Lumpur, he believes Sarawak can attract high-impact investments by improving efficiency, strengthening human capital, and focusing on key industries. For Goh, transparency and sound governance are essential… [Read More]
Nepal Transforms Forest Management Through Data-Driven Action
Nepal is taking major strides toward empowering every municipality to manage its forests sustainably by developing detailed biophysical forest data and strengthening local governance. For many years, forest data existed only at national and provincial levels, creating a gap that limited effective management under the country’s federal structure. To address this, the Ministry of Forests… [Read More]
Boosting Yemen’s Resilience Through Sustainable Fisheries
Yemen’s fisheries sector, once central to food security and local livelihoods, has suffered immense damage due to prolonged conflict, collapsing infrastructure, and worsening climate impacts. Fishers have faced rising costs, limited access to cold storage, and deteriorating landing sites, all of which have reduced earnings and made nutritious fish less affordable for communities. Despite these… [Read More]
Boosting Rural Incomes and Fisheries Productivity Across the Philippines
Agriculture plays a vital role in the Philippines, employing a quarter of the labor force and contributing significantly to the national economy. Despite its importance, the sector’s transformation has been slow due to persistent challenges such as low productivity, limited value addition, and the growing impacts of climate change, which have reduced yields and arable… [Read More]
Tajikistan to Modernize Livestock Sector with $17 Million ADB Grant
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $17 million grant to help Tajikistan digitalize and modernize its livestock farming sector, aiming to increase farmer incomes and improve access to nutritious food. The financing includes a $14 million grant from the Asian Development Fund and a $3 million grant from the Japan Fund for Prosperous… [Read More]
New Cambodian Roadmap Aims to Save Lives Through Early Warning Systems
The Government of Cambodia, in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme and other UN agencies, has launched the National Roadmap for Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL 2025–2028), a strategic plan designed to ensure inclusive, multi-hazard early warning systems reach every community in the country. Developed collaboratively with government ministries, UN partners, and civil… [Read More]
Pakistan to Boost Clean Energy Grid with $330 Million ADB Funding
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved loans totaling $330 million to Pakistan for the Second Power Transmission Strengthening Project, a key investment aimed at expanding the national transmission network and facilitating the transfer of low-cost renewable and hydropower to major load centers. The project will construct a new 500-kilovolt transmission line spanning approximately 290… [Read More]
Lao PDR to Strengthen Inclusive and Green Growth with ADB Support
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $36 million financing package to align technical and vocational education and training (TVET) with labor market demands in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The Skills Enhancement for Inclusive and Green Economic Development Project aims to increase local employment opportunities for young people, particularly women, by… [Read More]
AfDB Launches New Financial Coordination Platform to Boost African Development Funding
The African Development Bank Group is taking significant steps to address Africa’s financing challenges by collaborating with regional financial partners to establish a Pan-African Financial Coordination Platform. This innovative platform aims to enhance collaboration among African financial institutions, streamline resource deployment, and promote efficiency through shared project pipelines, harmonized technical standards, and coordinated implementation timelines…. [Read More]
Digital Rights at Risk: EU’s Omnibus Proposals Could Undermine Accountability
Amnesty Tech has strongly criticized the European Commission’s proposed “digital omnibus” measures, warning that they could dismantle key protections against digital threats across the EU. Damini Satija, Programme Director at Amnesty Tech, emphasized that these proposals risk weakening people’s rights, enabling unlawful surveillance, discriminatory profiling in welfare and policing, and undermining individuals’ control over personal… [Read More]
$4.8M Boost for Girls’ Education: Malala Fund Channels 66% to Young Women-Led Groups
Malala Fund has announced $4.8 million in new grants to support 21 organisations advancing girls’ education in Nigeria, Pakistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. In alignment with the Fund’s 2025–2030 strategy, 66% of the funding, approximately $3.17 million, will go to young women-led organisations, significantly exceeding the original target. Malala Yousafzai, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of… [Read More]
Gender Equality in Weather and Climate Services: WMO Virtual Workshop Highlights Progress
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is hosting a virtual workshop on Gender Mainstreaming across Hydrometeorological Services on 25 November 2025, bringing together experts and practitioners from the UN system and national services to promote gender-responsive approaches in weather, climate, and water operations. The workshop emphasizes the importance of gender mainstreaming for delivering inclusive, equitable, and… [Read More]
IDB & World Bank: Jamaica Faces Historic US$8.8 Billion Loss from Hurricane Melissa
The World Bank, in coordination with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has estimated that Hurricane Melissa caused physical damages in Jamaica totaling US$8.8 billion, equivalent to 41% of the country’s 2024 GDP, making it the costliest hurricane in the nation’s recorded history. The Global Rapid Damage Estimation (GRADE), conducted immediately after the hurricane, assessed damage… [Read More]
Canada Pledges Backing for IFAD Investments at COP30 to Enhance Climate Adaptation
At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Canada announced a CAD 263 million (approximately US$187 million) concessional loan to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), reinforcing its commitment to global climate action. The funding aims to help regions disproportionately affected by climate shocks adapt, protect food security, and strengthen rural livelihoods. Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate… [Read More]
Boosting Fisheries: Zimbabwe Introduces New Fish Hatchery Management Guidelines
Zimbabwe has taken a major step to strengthen its fisheries and aquaculture sector with the launch of the Fish Hatchery Management Guidelines, a milestone aimed at unlocking the country’s fish farming potential, improving fingerling quality, and supporting sustainable growth. The sector is critical for food security, nutrition, and rural livelihoods, yet much of Zimbabwe’s natural… [Read More]
WHO: More Countries Reporting Hard-to-Treat Gonorrhoea Strains
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised alarm over the growing global threat of drug-resistant gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection, based on new findings from its Enhanced Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (EGASP). The programme, launched in 2015, collects laboratory and clinical data from sentinel sites worldwide to monitor antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and guide treatment strategies…. [Read More]
Lifetime Toll of Violence: Nearly 1 in 3 Women Face Partner or Sexual Abuse
Violence against women continues to be one of the world’s most persistent and under-addressed human rights crises, with minimal progress over the past two decades, according to a landmark report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners. Globally, nearly one in three women—approximately 840 million—have experienced physical or sexual violence by an… [Read More]
WHO-Trained Journalist Honored Again for Road Safety Journalism in Ghana
Ghana News Agency Senior Editor Dasmani Issifu Laary has won the road safety category of the Ghana Journalism Association’s annual national journalism awards, becoming the second WHO-trained journalist in the country to receive this recognition. His investigative report, Deadly Highways: Fixing Ghana’s Silent Epidemic, highlights the systemic causes of road deaths and serious injuries in… [Read More]
Angola Approves 2026-2030 National Immunization Strategy for Stronger Health Systems
Angola has officially launched its National Immunization Strategy (NIS) 2026-2030, aimed at strengthening the country’s Expanded Program on Immunization and safeguarding children’s health. The Strategy sets ambitious targets aligned with WHO recommendations and global immunization goals, emphasizing equity, sustainability, and integration of vaccination services into the national health agenda. Developed through a participatory and evidence-based… [Read More]
