Ukraine provides an illuminating example of a health system that has responded to a health shock in a way that both builds health system resilience and advances health system reforms. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in Ukraine in early 2020, a set of major health financing and provider...

This evidence review is designed to support policy makers seeking to implement a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). It synthesizes the latest global evidence of effectiveness of SSB taxes and summarizes international experiences with SSB taxation to-date. SSBs are non-alcoholic beverages...

The global COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the largest public health initiative ever undertaken, presents challenges unprecedented in scale, speed and specificities, especially in low and middle-income countries. In November 2020, anticipating the availability of safe and effective vaccines for...

The significance of this diagnostic work stems from the fact that it is the first of its kind to be carried out under the One Health perspective in Sudan. The study aligns with the World Bank's growing focus on One Health approach to preparing for and addressing zoonotic and emerging infectious...

Improving energy efficiency-using less energy to do the same amount of work-has both supply-side and demand-side aspects. Improvements in energy efficiency are reductions in the energy required to maintain or improve energy services to households, businesses, and communities. Supply-side energy...

In the face of the global economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the World Bank delivered the largest crisis response in its history. This evaluation assesses the Bank Group's early response to the economic crises caused by COVID-19, and examines interventions over the 15...

This paper has outlined an ambitious agenda for the WBG to support PPR enhancement at country, regional, and global levels as part of a broader approach to strengthen health systems. It is an agenda that not only seeks to deliver on the Bank's IDA commitments related to disease outbreaks and...

This evaluation provides an early-stage assessment of the Sustainable Development Finance Policy (SDFP) of the International Development Association (IDA), which went into effect July 1, 2020. A steep rise in debt vulnerabilities in IDA-eligible countries over the past decade highlighted...

This evaluation assesses the quality of the World Bank's early response to the COVID-19 crisis and the initial steps toward recovery, focusing on the health and social response. It concentrates on the relief stage and support to restructure systems in the first 15 months of the pandemic...