In the face of rapid urbanization and ongoing political unrest, Ethiopia’s secondary cities face significant challenges in meeting citizens’ needs while contending with overstretched resources, especially for essential WASH services. Ensuring that strong and reliable WASH services are available to everyone is paramount, especially within vulnerable communities. In addition, water and sanitation services must adapt…
USAID has made great strides in improving student learning outcomes in East Africa, particularly in primary school student reading skills. However, much work remains to be done, especially considering learning disruptions due to COVID-19. With the need to re-engage learners, it is critical to focus on early-grade reading for continued retention, success in future grades,…
Vietnam is considered a significant contributor to the world ocean plastic pollution. This harmful practice weakens the resilience of marine and other ecosystems and exacerbates the effects of climate change, which Vietnam is especially vulnerable to; studies estimate that rising sea levels, typhoons, flooding, droughts, and other extreme weather will affect more than 50 million…
Lagos, Nigeria is a densely populated city with rapidly growing urban and peri-urban areas and over 200 informal settlements that pose unique challenges for water supply access. These challenges are exacerbated by poor performance of existing water utilities, inadequate public financing, insufficient water infrastructure, and lack of revenue generation. The lack of access to safe…
Growth prospects for the Philippines’ digital economy are promising; the internet economy grew by 32% from 2015 to 2019 and 93% from 2020 to 2021. However, the Philippines is falling behind regional peers in digital adoption. Longstanding distrust in digital transactions and limited digital infrastructure contributing to unequal access to services delivered via the internet…
Moldova, a landlocked country bordered by Romania and Ukraine, faces a challenging development path. The country needs to sustain macroeconomic stability and revive private sector growth, but the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession, and the regional crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have all caused economic uncertainty. Structural factors, like an overall declining population,…
As of 2021, Colombia was the 18th largest gold producer globally and the third largest in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, more than 80% of the country’s gold is illegally mined, resulting in detrimental environmental and social effects, including deforestation, landscape disruption, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity. Although the artisanal and small-scale…
Libya’s remote and historically underserved Fezzan region has endured a decade of ethnic conflict. Moreover, the area has also been the hardest hit by a country-wide liquidity crisis. The vacuum created by instability has been filled by the underground economy. Smuggling has become the economic lifeblood of the region as tribes have exploited the country’s…
Overfishing and the effects of climate change are challenging the resilience of Tanzania’s biodiverse marine protected areas (MPAs), and poorly planned infrastructure projects, underdeveloped governance and co-management systems, and inadequate financing have contributed to poor management of the MPAs. The private sector has no incentive to participate in conservation efforts and management entities lack both…
The USAID-funded Senegal Building a Resilient Health System activity supports the Government of Senegal (GOS) and its Ministry of Health and Social Action (MSAS) to make meaningful and sustainable improvements to its country’s health system, achieving its vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Through targeted technical assistance, training, and capacity building, the activity strengthens systems…
The USAID-funded End Malaria Project supports the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) to achieve and sustain its goal of universal coverage of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) through mass and school-based distribution campaigns in targeted provinces as determined by the NMCP and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). The project strengthens the NMCP to effectively plan and…
Every day, people from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras leave their homes to embark on a perilous journey through Mexico to the United States, driven by both a lack of employment opportunities and the impacts of climate change. To address the root causes of irregular migration stemming from the region, the United States and Mexican governments…