Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9388

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Addressing Inefficient Distribution of Teachers Between Schools: The Case of Tanzania With Malawi and the Gambia

(Washington, DC, 2023-11-20) World Bank

Teachers are the single most important input to learning, and in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa teachers’ emoluments account for most of the spending on basic education (Bold et al., 2017). However, in many countries in the region teachers are poorly distributed between schools. Schools in remote areas are frequently understaffed compared to those closer to towns and large villages, reflecting a reluctance among teachers to accept postings in areas with significant hardship (Mulkeen, 2010). By contrast, schools in or close to towns and larger villages, where more facilities and amenities are available, often have more teachers than required by government standards, even where the overall supply of teachers nationwide is inadequate. An estimated 28 percent of the variation in staffing between schools in the region cannot be explained by variation in the size of enrollments in schools (Majgaard and Mingat, 2012). This represents a major source of inefficiency in public education expenditure, with significant shares of finance being spent to maintain teachers in comparatively overstaffed schools where they have limited marginal impact on learning outcomes. The impacts of these inefficiencies may be exacerbated by the need to ensure a suitable range of subject expertise among the teachers at a school.
Ensuring Efficient Provision of Teaching and Learning Materials: The Case of Mozambique

(Washington, DC, 2023-11-15) World Bank

Books are one of the most important inputs in student learning and are generally considered a cost-effective input for increasing the quality of primary education (Fredriksen et al., 2015). After salaries, which typically account for around 80 percent of spending on basic education in Sub-Saharan Africa, textbooks are in many countries the next largest area of recurring spending on basic education, accounting for 5–10 percent on average (ibid.). For textbooks to be beneficial for learning, they need to be appropriate to students’ language needs, and teachers need to be adequately trained to utilize them (Glewwe, Kremer, and Moulin, 2009); textbooks need to be utilized by teachers in class instead of simply being stored at school (Sabarwal, Evans, and Marshak, 2014). Where they are appropriately designed and utilized, however, providing textbooks has been found to be one of the most cost-effective inputs for learning at primary level (Michaelowa and Wechtler, 2006; McEwan, 2014). Despite their importance for learning, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle to deliver an adequate number of textbooks to students on time. Among 38 Sub-Saharan Africa countries, 21 had pupil-textbook ratios in reading and math higher than 1.5 in the period 2010-15, with 12 having very high ratios of three or more (Bashir et al., 2018). As education systems have grown rapidly across Sub-Saharan Africa in response to the introduction of free education policies, governments have found it increasingly difficult and expensive to ensure that every student has the books they need to learn.
Building Climate Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Systems in Africa: A Summary of Findings and Recommendations from Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessments (CHVAs) Funded by AFRI-RES Across Four Countries

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-06) World Bank

This note summarizes lessons and practices deployed in embedding climate resilience into the design of projects that received catalytic funds from The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES). It draws from application of the Resilience Booster Tool to specific projects, as relevant, Compendium Volume on Climate Resilient Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank (2023) and Guidance, Standards, and Good Practice Notes developed under the program.
Embedding Climate Resilience into Urban and Transport Projects

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-05) World Bank

This note summarizes lessons and practices deployed in embedding climate resilience into the design of projects that received catalytic funds from The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES). It draws from application of the Resilience Booster Tool to specific projects, as relevant, Compendium Volume on Climate Resilient Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank (2023a) and Guidance, Standards, and Good Practice Notes developed under the program.
Embedding Climate Resilience into Agriculture Projects

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-05) World Bank

This note summarizes lessons and practices deployed in embedding climate resilience into the design of projects that received catalytic funds from The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES). It draws from application of the Resilience Booster Tool to specific projects, as relevant, Compendium Volume on Climate Resilient Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank (2023a) and Guidance, Standards, and Good Practice Notes developed under the program.
Embedding Climate Resilience into Ecosystem and Water Projects

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-05) World Bank

This note summarizes lessons and practices deployed in embedding climate resilience into the design of projects that received catalytic funds from The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES). It draws from application of the Resilience Booster Tool to specific projects, as relevant, Compendium Volume on Climate Resilient Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank (2023a) and Guidance, Standards, and Good Practice Notes developed under the program.
Monitoring Impacts of COVID-19 and Other Shocks, Round 12, Feb-Mar 2023

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-07-28) Atamanov, Aziz ; Cochinard, Frédéric ; Ilukor, John ; Kemigisha, Audrey ; Kilic, Talip ; Mupere, Andrew ; Ponzini, Giulia

In June 2020, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), in collaboration with the World Bank, officially launched the Uganda High Frequency Phone Survey (UHFPS) to track the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on a regular basis. In June 2022, the scope of the survey was expanded to monitor economic sentiments and the socioeconomic impact of other shocks such as the Russia-Ukraine war, Ebola outbreak and extreme weather events. In addition, the survey is being used to collect perceptions on different development policies and programs. The survey aimed to recontact the entire sample of households that had been interviewed during the Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS) 2019/20 round and that had phone numbers for at least one household member or a reference individual. This brief presents findings from the most recent round (12th) of the UHFPS, conducted in February-March 2023.
Monitoring Impacts of COVID-19 and Other Shocks: Uganda High Frequency Phone Survey (UHFPS), Round 9, August 2022

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-08) Atamanov, Aziz ; Cochinard, Frédéric ; Ilukor, John ; Kemigisha, Audrey ; Kilic, Talip ; Mupere, Andrew ; Ponzini, Giulia

In June 2020, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, with the support from the World Bank, has launched the High-Frequency Phone Survey on COVID-19 to track the impacts of the pandemic on a monthly basis for a period of 12 months. In June 2022, the scope of the survey was expanded to monitor economic sentiments and the socioeconomic impact of other shocks such as the Russia-Ukraine war and extreme weather events. The survey aimed to recontact the entire sample of households that had been interviewed during the Uganda National Panel Survey 2019/20 round and that had phone numbers for at least one household member or a reference individual. This report presents the findings from the ninth round of the survey that was conducted between August 5th and August 29th, 2022.
The Enabling Environment for Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Case Study - Kenya

(Washington, DC, 2022-08) World Bank

Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) is essential to the well-being and empowerment of women and adolescent girls. Attaining adequate MHH requires access to at least three intersecting elements: (i) access to female-friendly facilities; (ii) access to information and knowledge on sexual reproductive health; and (iii) access to quality and affordable menstrual products. Each of these three elements is in turn influenced by an enabling environment that influences product availability and pricing, discriminatory practices on social stigmas, or the standards on design of public sanitary facilities. Kenya stands out with its comprehensive policies and regulations related to menstrual health and hygiene, including being one of the first countries to have introduced tax reforms on menstrual hygiene products in an effort to make such products more affordable. Despite momentum at the national policy level, women and girls in Kenya continue to face significant challenges in adequately and safely managing their menstrual health and hygiene. The experience and lessons learned in Kenya can therefore benefit other countries at earlier reform stages
Monitoring COVID-19 Impacts on Households in Sudan: Results from a Panel Household High-Frequency Phone Survey

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-06) Osman, Eiman ; Rahasimbelonirina, Ando ; Etang, Alvin

This brief focuses on the household survey component of the High-Frequency Phone Survey of Households (HFS). The sampling methodology adopted for the implementation of the household survey is probabilistic, and the sampling frame is provided by a compilation of a list of phone numbers collected during the implementation of various projects/surveys during the last few years at the household level across the country. The sample is representative of the 18 states of Sudan. This brief summarizes the main results of the core questions in the completed six rounds of the Sudan HFS of the same households (i.e., a panel survey). Results of the firm survey will be reported in a separate report.