Economics & Development

The Post-Closure Action Plan (PCAP) Closure Note for the Investing and Innovating for Grassroots Health Service Delivery Project (P161283) in Viet Nam confirms the completion of all outstanding environmental and social (E&S) obligations following project closure in December 2024. The USD 80 million IDA-financed project aimed to improve the quality and utilization of grassroots health services across 13 provinces. At closure, one outstanding issue remained under the Ha Giang sub-project due to typhoon-related damage to the Nan Xin Commune Health Station, requiring additional safety and restoration works. A PCAP was agreed to address these through construction of protective embankments, slope stabilization, and site restoration, financed by the provincial budget and insurance. Monitoring by the task team confirmed that all actions were completed by April 2026, and the facility was fully operational and handed over. The note concludes that all obligations have been satisfactorily fulfilled and recommends formal closure and public disclosure in line with Access to Information Policy.

This Project Appraisal Document presents the Lao PDR Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Management Project II, whose development objective is to enhance flood resilience in target areas of Lao PDR and strengthen the Government’s capacity for hydrometeorological service delivery and post-disaster response financing. The operation responds to growing flood risks, macro-fiscal constraints, and rapid urbanization by combining investments in urban flood protection, improvements to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology’s monitoring and early warning services, and financial protection through market-based disaster risk insurance, while mainstreaming disaster risk management in development planning. Component 1 finances prioritized riverbank protection, flood gates and related works in Muang Xay, Luang Prabang, and Paksan, complemented by strategic planning in Vientiane Capital and Luang Namtha; Component 2 focuses on sustaining hydromet station operations, data integration, model updates, and last-mile cellphone-based early warning; Component 3 sustains sovereign disaster risk insurance and strengthens post-disaster fund allocation and delivery systems, including links to adaptive social protection; Component 4 supports project management and integrates risk-informed planning into national and provincial systems; and a contingent emergency response component is included. Implementation is led by the Ministry of Finance through a Project Management Unit with Component Management Units in sector ministries and Project Implementation Units in target provinces. The project expects to directly protect tens of thousands of people and reduce exposure over several square kilometers, improve hydromet station performance and warning delivery, and expand disaster risk finance coverage to millions, with gender-responsive payout protocols to increase access for women and female-headed households. Economic analysis indicates a strong net present value from avoided damages and cost-effective fiscal resilience from layered financial protection. Environmental and social risks are rated Substantial and are addressed through the Environmental and Social Framework, with measures for cultural heritage in Luang Prabang and for land acquisition and ethnic groups in Oudomxay; the policy on international waterways is triggered. The report concludes that prioritizing confluence urban hotspots, sustaining core hydromet operations, and pre-arranging finance will measurably reduce losses, strengthen preparedness, and protect scarce public resources. Policy changes incorporated or proposed include updating and operationalizing the Lao Contingency Plan with clarified payout procedures and environmental and social measures, developing gender-sensitive payout protocols and linking insurance disbursements to adaptive social protection, issuing annual planning instructions to integrate disaster risk management into the next National Socio-Economic Development Plan and sector plans, strengthening the decree on national development planning to embed risk-informed investment decisions, and advancing public financial management reforms to institutionalize long-term premium financing and digitized, rules-based post-disaster fund execution.

Over 200 million children will be born in West and Central Africa (AFW) between 2025 and 2050, a major addition to total regional population of 534 million. By 2050, almost one in five young people globally will be living in AFW. As they look to the future beyond 2050, their prospects - and that of their countries - will depend heavily on the investments they and their governments make between now and then. Health and nutrition outcomes during a child’s early years matter greatly for later life prospects, but currently, almost 10 percent of children in AFW die before their fifth birthday, and almost one-third of children under five are stunted. These deficits are putting the region at a major disadvantage for the learning and jobs agendas of the future, just as the challenges in these areas reflect, in part, the health and nutrition deficits of the past. The imperative is to break this cycle. The World Bank’s vision for the region is universal health coverage - that all people have access to the full range of quality health, nutrition, and population services they need without facing financial hardship.

The recommendation report prepared by IESR for the World Bank’s Just Coal Transition (JCT) Learning Academy 2024/25 program presents key results and insights from adapting learning modules to the Southeast Asia (SEA) context, alongside guidance on delivery formats. The review of European-based modules led to the development of an adaptation matrix, merging and refining courses, introducing a new module on SEA coal dynamics, and addressing knowledge gaps through region-specific content while omitting less relevant materials. Despite challenges such as incomplete source materials and varying formats, the process resulted in a comprehensive syllabus and learning activity plan. Content adaptation consolidated six original courses into four and an introductory module, supported by iterative revisions and expert feedback, although delays and inconsistent reviewer engagement highlighted the need for clearer standards and coordination. Delivery recommendations emphasize aligning modules with target stakeholders and propose offline synchronous learning as the most effective method, followed by blended approaches, supported by translation and local partnerships. Pilot testing in Indonesia validated these approaches, demonstrating the importance of contextualized, well-structured, and interactive learning models to build capacity for an equitable coal transition in the region.

The development objective of the Strengthening Government Capacity for Fiscal Reform Implementation Project for Ukraine is to enhance the Government's capacity to plan and finance recovery and reconstruction. This paper requires an additional financing of thirty million Additional Financing (AF) from the URTF will establish the conditions necessary for the consolidation of the IT capacity under MoF and address urgent needs to strengthen cybersecurity, establish the foundational analytics and AI capabilities to exploit the value of PFM data, and ensure system reliability and business continuity across the PFM domain. The AF and Project restructuring will expand Project Component 4 to support Ukraine’s revised PFM IT Strategy, align with the Government’s Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, and support EU accession objectives. The AF will strengthen OPF’s capacity and finance: the IT transformation unit and the competence centers; preparation of IT systems consolidation; preparing the foundational infrastructure for a private cloud; creation of a Security Operations Center (SOC); development of data governance and responsible AI use frameworks and supporting protocols for all PFM Institutions; and the establishment of a centralized data warehouse, which will allow piloting advanced analytics. These investments will mitigate cybersecurity and operational risks across PFM institutions, increase fiscal resilience and EU accession readiness, and lay the groundwork for broader modernization to be supported in subsequent investment projects. In addition to the creation of these critical capabilities, the AF will support technical assessments of legacy systems at STS and SCS, to prepare for migration and modernization strategies and associated business process reengineering. This AF is prepared in parallel with the SURGE PforR, including its first Additional Financing, approved on September 1, 2025 (US$246.55 million), and the second Additional Financing, currently under preparation and expected to be presented to the Board on June 23, 2026 (US$584.25 million). The Component 4 investments directly support the implementation of selected SURGE Results Areas by strengthening core digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data systems that underpin system interoperability, compliance risk management, and results verification. The AF supports investments identified in Ukraine’s PFM IT strategy that will modernize fiscal management and strengthen revenue administration. The AF is consistent with the World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework for Ukraine and aligns with the objectives of strengthening fiscal institutions, supporting recovery, and preparing for EU accession. The AF contributes to sustaining recovery financing and, indirectly, to protecting essential public services and social spending by strengthening the state’s capacity to mobilize and manage revenues and by addressing critical risks in fiscal IT systems. The AF will be implemented in close coordination with key development partners, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU). The AF complements ongoing support by these partners, notably EU support in financing and developing PFM systems critical for Ukraine’s alignment with EU standards and IMF technical assistance for the implementation of the National Revenue Strategy (NRS).