World Bank Group: Invest in People

The Fragility Forum 2026 is our premier global event on fragility, conflict and violence, and brings together global leaders, practitioners, and partners to focus on one thing: how to turn ambition into lasting impact in fragile and conflict-affected settings. This year's agenda focuses on three critical themes: ➡️Anticipating fragility risks earlier ➡️Proactive support to committed governments, deeper engagement on jobs ➡️Economic opportunity, and strategic partnerships The opening plenary will set the tone. The full program includes thematic sessions, practitioner sessions, clinics, and sessions showcasing successful innovations from fragile settings around the world. 📅 June 8–10, 2026 | Washington D.C. and online 🎟️ Registration is free and open to all — 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄 🔗 http://wrld.bg/w8HY50Z2p3B #FragilityForum

NEWS: The Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda is a reminder that health emergencies require rapid action, strong surveillance systems, frontline health workers, and resilient public health infrastructure. The World Bank Group is mobilizing financing, technical expertise, and operational support to help countries respond to the outbreak and protect vulnerable communities. This includes leveraging existing health emergency response mechanisms and working closely with national authorities, WHO, Africa CDC, and development partners. Because this Ebola strain currently lacks approved vaccines or therapeutics, containment depends heavily on rapid case detection, contact tracing, community engagement, laboratory capacity, and strong public health interventions. The outbreak also underscores the importance of sustained investments in pandemic preparedness and response systems before crises emerge. Read more in this Reuters interview with Monique Vledder, Head of the World Bank Group’s Global Health Department. #Ebola #GlobalHealth #PandemicPreparedness #HealthSystems #PublicHealth https://lnkd.in/e6Je8WEN

Can microfinance become a core pillar of resilient livelihoods and job creation at scale? We think so. Climate shocks are already reshaping local economies, placing at risk the incomes, assets, and jobs of 1.2 billion people. In many vulnerable areas, this is pushing financial institutions to withdraw just when communities and microenterprises need them most. Our new blog on the Global Microfinance Initiative looks at how to bridge this gap by:  ▸ Working with local groups and micro, small, and medium enterprises to design the right financial products  ▸ Supporting microfinance institutions to manage climate risk in their portfolios  ▸Engaging governments to integrate climate considerations into national financial inclusion policies and regulatory frameworks Read more: http://wrld.bg/gf3q50Z2I0s By capturing and sharing lessons across regions, the Initiative aims to turn local innovation into global public goods for resilient finance at scale. Jana El Horr, Ph.D., Peter Zetterli, Nicole Southard, Samantha McCraine, Global Environment Facility, CGAP, FinDev Gateway, World Bank Group: Agriculture, Climate, Environment, Water, Iffath Sharif, Tanya D'Lima, Joanna de Berry, Murat Onur, Luiza Nora, Germán Freire, Janna Tenzing, PhD, Penny Williams, Josefina Posadas

How does geography influence women's access to employment? Join the Geographic Considerations in Evaluating Women’s Employment Opportunities course by The World Bank Group Data Academy to explore a new framework that incorporates location-specific factors in assessing how supportive different environments are for women’s employment. Explore the Geospatial Women's Employment Analytical Framework (GeoWEAF) and connect with experts worldwide Learn how to understand gender barriers with geospatial data Ideal for urban planners, policymakers, gender specialists, researchers, and students The course materials will be available starting June 16, 2026. Free certificate is included upon completion of the course. Register now: https://lnkd.in/e8vsr6nY #Ideas4Impact

📊 New report: Cracking the Credit Code: Alternative Data and AI for Financial Inclusion Millions of individuals and small businesses in emerging markets remain excluded from formal finance. It’s not because they lack the ability to repay, but because traditional credit systems cannot see their economic activity. IFC - International Finance Corporation’s new report explores how alternative data and AI-driven credit scoring models are helping lenders assess borrowers who lack formal credit histories. 📈 Key insights from the report: -         Alternative data is expanding credit access by capturing economic signals beyond traditional credit bureaus -         Mobile money, digital payments, and platform data are increasingly used to assess creditworthiness -         Women borrowers often perform as well as (or better than) men when evaluated using these models -         Fintech innovation is reshaping lending markets, particularly in emerging economies -         Responsible implementation and strong data governance will be critical as these models scale Drawing on global market analysis, firm case studies, borrower-level data, and interviews with industry leaders, the report examines how alternative data and AI are already changing how credit decisions are made. Innovations like these are critical to expanding access to finance to women and women-led businesses thus unlocking women’s entrepreneurship, economic participation, and job creation at scale. 🔗 Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eTBbEwHa World Bank Group: Invest in People

4.3 years. That's how long the average child in Afghanistan can expect to stay in school. For girls, the picture is even starker. Meet Shafiullah Miakhil, one of the voices responding to the Human Capital Knowledge Challenge. His message is clear: rebuild Afghanistan's future through community-based, inclusive education systems that leave no one behind, especially girls. In his own words: "One urgent human capital challenge in Afghanistan is the severe lack of access to quality education, especially for girls. Afghanistan's HCI+ score is only 80, and expected years of schooling remain extremely low at 4.3 years. The gap is even more critical for women, whose HCI+ score is only 41 compared to 121 for men. Climate shocks, poverty, displacement, and limited educational opportunities continue to weaken long-term productivity and resilience. According to HCI+ simulations, increasing years of schooling could raise Afghanistan's HCI+ from 80 to 128 and significantly improve future earnings. The solution requires community-based and inclusive education systems, including safe local learning opportunities for girls, digital learning support, climate-resilient schools, and stronger investment in school quality and teacher capacity. Investing in education is one of the most effective ways to strengthen Afghanistan's future human capital and economic resilience." That’s what the Human Capital Knowledge Challenge is all about: real ideas, from real people, on the challenges that matter most. Got a solution of your own? Take the quiz, share your perspective, and you could be featured next. Top responses are in the running for a prize too. Add your voice here: www.worldbank.org/hcquiz