Buildings should provide safe, comfortable, and healthy environments for people to live and work. They are an essential component of societies and economies, housing critical infrastructure necessary to keep governments and businesses in operation.

Trillions of dollars are wasted on subsidies for agriculture, fishing and fossil fuels that could be used to help address climate change instead of harming people and the planet, according to this report by the World Bank.

Groundwater is vital to economic activity and growth, food security, socioeconomic development, and adapting to the impacts of climate change. But the sustainability of this critical resource is at risk in many regions, partly because it is not valued appropriately and is taken for granted.

This report provides evidence-based guidance on cost-effective and energy-efficient cooling and ventilation interventions to improve building-level thermal comfort and indoor air quality for a changing climate in South Asia.

South Asia is home to 9 of the world's 10 cities with the worst air pollution. Concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in some of the region's most densely populated and poor areas are up to 20 times higher than what the World Health Organization considers healthy (5 micrograms per cubic meter).

With a GDP growth at 4.8 percent in 2022, economic performance softened after the strong rebound from the COVID-19 crisis at 7.5 percent in 2021.

Global growth is projected to slow significantly in the second half of this year, with weakness continuing in 2024. Inflation pressures persist, and tight monetary policy is expected to weigh substantially on activity. The possibility of more widespread bank turmoil and tighter monetary policy could result in even weaker global growth.

This is the first edition of the Economic Update for Equatorial Guinea. This report presents recent economic developments in Equatorial Guinea as well as the medium-term economic outlook and risks (Chapter 1), followed by a detailed exploration of a specific topic (Chapter 2).

A combination of domestic imbalances and external shocks in 2022, led to macroeconomic challenges in Ghana. The year was marked by currency depreciation, rising inflation, and tumbling investor confidence.

In the last two years, Liberia’s economic performance has improved. Inflation remained in single digits despite high global food and fuel prices and a relaxation in monetary and fiscal policies. Liberia’s poverty rate is projected to have declined slightly in the last two years as GDP growth rebounds and inflation moderates.