Social safety nets, including cash, in-kind, and asset transfers are at the forefront of government efforts to tackle poverty and inequalities—including in response to crises brought on by conflict, climate, and public health...

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the gaps in the social safety net and showed how most of the world’s workers – the 2 billion working in the informal economy – are being left behind. As the crisis evolved, many governments developed...

The extension of social protection to all workers, including those in the informal economy, is crucial to creating better quality employment. For this to happen, it is essential that financing for social protection is increased. A...

The concept of hybridisation in welfare regime literature denotes the presence of multiple forms of welfare regimes in a given context. This means that in any given country, some people might be successfully incorporated into state...

A new muti-sectoral investment in the state of Pará, Northern Brazil, was approved today by the World Bank Board of Directors, targeting reforms in social programs, education, and environment protection to help Pará reach its...

Implemented by the Ethiopia Ministry of Women’s and Social Affairs, the UDS program partners with local NGOs to target the urban destitute—children, women, men, and elderly people who live on the street. The program falls under the...

Prior to 2020, when the World Bank started supporting the Ministry of Health, the completeness of paper-based birth registrations was only about 59 percent in The Gambia. That meant that a large proportion of the population did not...

Evidence from Mauritius shows the consequences of losing a formal job in a labour market characterised by high rates of informal employment are significant. Unemployment benefits help mitigate these effects, while generating only...

Forced displacement often forces children out of school and into employment at a young age. This disruption in their human capital formation leads to poverty in the long term. This column demonstrates that unconditional...

When it came to the cash distribution in Sudan, local actors’ understanding of the target neighbourhood contexts and fast changing dynamics were central to success. Without local leadership there would have been no way...

School meal programmes are among the few social sector initiatives that generate equally high enthusiasm from governments in both the poorest and the richest nations. Even in these times of turbulence and uncertainty, most...

The increase in migrant workers and motivations from economic difficulties at home boosted remittances to the region, which rose by 23% in 2021. Monthly remittances per worker are almost 1.8 times as much as average earnings at home...