Power lines in Nepal. Credit: David Waldorf This blog is part of the series #OneSouthAsia exploring how South Asia can become a more integrated, thus more economically dynamic region. The blog series is a lead up to the South Asia Economic Conclave, an event dedicated to deepening existing economic links through policy and investments in regional businesses. Development practitioners often paint two faces of South Asia. ...
Kathmandu after the first earthquake It has been a month since a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Nepal on April 25. What happened next? Having experienced a real threat of death, many survivors manifested avoidance (“I don’t want to talk about it!”), hyper-vigilance (“What’s that noise? Is the ground moving?”), intrusive thoughts (“What if the next big one may ...
As part of World Bank South Asia's "What Will It Take to End Gender-Based Violence" campaign, we invited Prabu Deepan to blog about his ideas as the co-founder of the Stitch Movement in Sri Lanka. Join Deepan for a live chat on Tuesday, March 5 at 4:00 p.m. Sri Lanka time. Location: facebook.com/worldbanksrilanka. Gender norms and stereotypes not only affect ...
A few weeks ago, I travelled to Gujarat to attend the project launch workshop for the second Gujarat State Highway Project (GSHP-II). It is a return visit to Gujarat after my last visit in 2008. I was the task team leader for the first Gujarat State Highway Project (GSHP) during 2005-2008, so I knew the state quite well and ...
The three decade long war in Sri Lanka was instigated due to unmet youth aspirations. Today, Sri Lanka is well known as a post conflict country. No Sri Lankan in their right minds would like to witness the same again. As a Sri Lankan who has lived and worked most of my life ...
Cranes in Bangladesh Harbor. Credit: Eric Nora / The World BankThis blog is part of the series #OneSouthAsia exploring how South Asia can become a more integrated, thus more economically dynamic region. The blog series is a lead up to the South Asia Economic Conclave, an event dedicated to deepening existing economic links through policy and investments in regional businesses.Imagine a South Asia without borders. People, ...
Video Platform Video Management Video Solutions Video Player The recent gang rape in India alarmed all countries in South Asia. A 23-year-old woman was gang-raped by five men on a bus in New Delhi. Some of the offenders had jobs (bus driver and assistant gym instructor) and one was a juvenile. The victim failed to survive the trauma. This incident ...
One in every three women in the world will be physically or sexually abused at some point in her life. This could include the woman sitting next to you on the bus, your little niece playing in the garden, or even a friend you have known all your life. For years, Rumana Manzur, assistant professor at Dhaka University, had been ...
Saurav Rana/World Bank By now, all of you must have heard of the massive earthquake and numerous aftershocks that have shaken Nepal over the last few days. As I am writing this, there is another tremor, 36 hours after the initial quake. I am lucky that my family is safe. We have been fortunate. The majority of the ...
‘Equal to whom?’ seems to be my burning question when I see women in post conflict Sri Lanka battling it out all alone due to their present circumstances. A three decade old war that ravaged north – east of Sri Lanka is now in the throes of reaping its peace dividends, slowly… The ...
As part of World Bank South Asia's "What Will It Take to End Gender-Based Violence" campaign, we invited Sachini Perera to blog about her work with Women and Media Collective (WMC) in Sri Lanka. Join Perera for a live chat on Friday, March 1 at 2:30 p.m. Sri Lanka time. Location:facebook.com/worldbanksrilanka. I often notice young women’s and men’s lack of ...
Author’s illustration “Smart Cities” have become the buzzwords in India ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined his vision for creating a series (a hundred, to be exact) of Smart Cities in India. Since then, there have been many debates to unpack, understand and define the Smart City. “Smart Cities” joins the long list of many other often overused city ...
When it comes to primary education, there are many reasons to be optimistic. Enrollment has jumped across the world, and more children are in school than ever before. In the last decade, the number of out-of-school children has fallen by half, from 102 million in 2000 to 57 million in 2011. But is showing up to school enough? ...
In a globalized economy, possessing the right set of skills is critical and determines one’s life opportunities and successes. Since 2010, the Skills and Training Enhancement Project (STEP) has helped underprivileged citizens in Bangladesh acquire new skills to improve their job prospects. Through STEP, the Government of Bangladesh has enhanced access and quality of technical education and training, especially for ...
Urbanization provides South Asian countries with the potential to transform their economies to join the ranks of richer nations in both prosperity and livability. And, indeed the region has made strides in the early part of the century when its urban population grew by 130 million. Average GDP per capita is up and absolute poverty is down.
Are you a South Asian artist from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka and born after 1974? You are invited to share examples of your work for the exhibition South Asia Artists: Imagining Our Future Together. Imagining our Future Together is a juried group exhibition that will be on display in Colombo, Dhaka, Islamabad, New Delhi ...
Thenmoli wants her daughter, Vijayalakshmi, to become a doctor. Photo: Samik Das “I wanted to become a doctor,” Thenmoli said. Her whisper echoed in the room which instantly fell silent. “There was no way even to get started when I was little.” Thenmoli pointed at her daughter, “Vijayalakshmi wants to become a doctor. She is only three. I will ...
Lisandro Martin “My village is beautiful and I have lived here all my life. Even though life can be hard, I don’t want to go away.” Eight-year-old Zannati lives on the front lines of climate change in her cyclone-ravaged coastal village of Nishanbaria on the Bay of Bengal. When she speaks, you ...
Economic and social development should not be left to economists and specialists only. This message is manifested in “Window of Opportunity,” a video highlighting the ambitions and goals of the World Bank’s 2015-19 Country Partnership Strategy in Pakistan. Truck drivers, entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers and thousands of other citizens from Pakistan shared their ideas and helped identify opportunities and challenges ...
Social Entrepreneurs: the Government of Bihar wants to partner with you! Traditionally, both government and the private sector have struggled to reach remote and poverty stricken parts of India, especially eastern states such as Bihar. Even social entrepreneurs and civil society organizations struggle to apply their innovations because of poor reach and lack of absorption,. However, Jeevika, a ...
