This study provides a basic diagnostic of residential network (piped) water coverage and affordability in Uganda and its relationship with poverty using a series of nationally representative household surveys for the period 2002-2013. The study first analyzes trends in residential network water coverage using both administrative and survey data. Demand-side and supply-side factors reducing the take-up of network water service by households in areas where the service is available are estimated. The study also documents the extent to which network water coverage enables household to shift time...

This study provides a basic diagnostic of access to safe water and sanitation in Uganda and their relationship with poverty. The analysis relies on a series of nationally representative household surveys for the period 2002-13, as well as on qualitative data collection. The study first analyzes trends in access to safe water and some of the constraints faced by households in this area using mostly household survey data. The issue of the cost of water for households without a connection to the water network is discussed with a focus on public stand pipes. Next qualitative data are presented on...

Since the 2011 uprising that toppled the former regime, Libya has been mired in deep political strife. An economy in which agriculture once flourished was converted wholesale to an oil-based rentier state of the most extreme kind. Following the immediate post-revolution oil-consumption boom, in 2014 Libya's economy is in recession. Security is the greatest challenge to stability (World Bank 2014). Today, limited opportunities exist for reintegrating youth and ex-combatants into the labor market. This policy note provides an initial assessment of Libya's labor market and discusses policy...

Jobs are critical to poverty reduction and inclusive growth in Sierra Leone, where more than half the population is poor and most are dependent on labor earnings. Adding to the jobs challenge is the young and growing population and therefore the need for substantial job creation, coupled with low labor intensity in the mining sector, which has been driving recent growth. Beyond job creation, in a context where most workers are engaged in low productivity jobs, improving the quality of jobs is critical for poverty reduction. Given that Sierra Leone is a post-conflict country, jobs are also...

Urban transport systems are essential for economic development and improving citizens' quality of life. To establish high-quality and affordable transport systems, cities must ensure their financial sustainability to fund new investments in infrastructure while also funding maintenance and operation of existing facilities and services. However, many cities in developing countries are stuck in an "underfunding trap" for urban transport, in which large up-front investments are needed for new transport infrastructure that will improve the still small-scale, and perhaps, poor-quality systems, but...

This toolkit is designed for policy makers and stakeholders who are considering the establishment of a publicly funded asset management company (AMC). An AMC is a statutory body or corporation, fully or partially owned by the government, usually established in times of financial sector stress, to assume the management of distressed assets and recoup the public cost of resolving the crisis. AMCs were first used in the early 1990s in Sweden (Securum) and the United States (the RTC), and again during the Asian crisis (for instance, Danaharta in Malaysia, KAMCO in the Republic of Korea). The 2008...

Expanding Tertiary education with quality, relevance and equity is one of the most decisive challenges for Kenya's future, including the achievement of the ideals of the 2010 Constitution and, especially, its 2030 vision, which aims at transforming Kenya into a 'newly industrializing, middle income, globally competitive and prosperous country'. That is because tertiary education can contribute in a critical manner to successfully overcome several of the country's challenges. This book provide analysis and policy recommendations to Government of Kenya, tertiary education leaders and the many...

Social Protection Programs for Africa's Drylands explores the role of social protection in promoting the well-being and prosperity of people living in dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, with a specifi c focus on the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. Based on a review of recent experience, it argues that social protection policies and programs have an important role in promoting the resilience of the people residing in these areas. Social protection programs, when well designed and carefully implemented at scale, can reduce vulnerability to droughts and other shocks and promote coping...

Prospects for Livestock-Based Livelihoods in Africa's Drylands examines the challenges and opportunities facing the livestock sector and the people who depend on livestock in the dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. It presents a novel way of thinking about pastoral development, grounded in a conceptual framework that focuses on the multiple shocks that drylands livestock keepers face and how those shocks can be addressed, drawing on a state-of-the-art literature review carried out by scientists of leading research institutes and development organizations, and integrating the results of an...

Dryland regions in Sub-Saharan Africa are home to one-half of the region's population and three-quarters of its poor. Poor both in natural resources and in assets and income, the inhabitants of drylands are highly vulnerable to droughts and other shocks. Despite a long history of interventions by governments, development agencies, and civil society organizations, there have been no sustained large-scale successes toward improving the resilience of drylands dwellers. Improved Agricultural Water Management for Africa's Drylands describes the extent to which agricultural water management...