Economics & Development

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) of Zimbabwe has developed a comprehensive ICT in Education Strategy to transform the country's education system through the integration of digital technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI. The strategy aims to enhance access to quality education, address textbook shortages, expand ICT infrastructure, and equip schools with the resources needed to support effective learning. Built on extensive stakeholder consultation and aligned with national development and education policies, the strategy focuses on five key action domains: Technical Infrastructure, Digital Resources, Capacity Building, Sustainability, and Innovation Research and Development. It also emphasizes leadership, risk management, resource mobilization, and monitoring and evaluation to ensure successful implementation. By strengthening digital skills, improving educational access, and promoting the responsible use of technology, the strategy seeks to prepare Zimbabwean learners for the demands of the 21st century and contribute to broader socio-economic development.

The development objective of the Palestinian Emergency Financing Facility for West Bank and Gaza is to contribute to service delivery in the West Bank. The seventh additional financing is proposed to respond to an acute fiscal crisis marked by the suspension and deductions of clearance revenues and the broader impacts of conflict, which have led to partial and delayed salary payments and risked significant disruptions to public education and health services; it scales up the ongoing operation to ensure continuity of services by retroactively financing portions of the wage bill for eligible education and health sector employees for additional months. The Bank will work through two components: (1) partial reimbursement of salaries for teachers and support staff in basic, secondary, pre-primary, and vocational education, and for doctors, nurses, technical specialists, and other health personnel in public hospitals and primary care facilities in the West Bank, explicitly excluding military and security staff; and (2) independent audits and payroll verification through agreed-upon procedures to maintain robust fiduciary assurance. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Finance and Planning using existing public financial management systems, including the Single Treasury Account, internal controls over payroll, and transaction-based disbursement, with environmental and social risk rated moderate and no physical works financed. Building on prior phases that maintained schooling for most of the academic calendar and enabled antenatal and postnatal care visits while supporting large numbers of female employees in both sectors, this financing increases target values for results indicators and reinstates measurement of the percentage of school days operational during the regular school period, while continuing to track education and health salary payments by gender and the number of antenatal and postnatal care visits. The project also strengthens inclusion and accountability through a Stakeholder Engagement Plan, a functional grievance mechanism with time-bound resolution targets, and updated Environmental and Social Commitment Plans; safeguards for personal data management are applied in line with international good practice. By sustaining salaries despite severe revenue shortfalls, the project intends to keep schools open, preserve essential health services, protect human capital—especially for women and vulnerable groups—and uphold institutional resilience during a period of fragility, conflict, and economic stress.