Report Launch: World Bank MENA Economic Update

FromNov 17, 2021 To Nov 17, 2021

Online Webinar

COVID-19 challenged healthcare systems across the Middle East and North Africa, many of which were overburdened even before the pandemic began. High public wage bills crowded out investments in social services such as health, a syndrome described as “fiscal myopia” by a new World Bank report. The report predicts a tenuous and uneven recovery as countries emerge from COVID-19, which will also be influenced by the widely varying pace of vaccination rates across the region.

Please join us for a special presentation and discussion about the World Bank’s latest Middle East and North Africa Economic Update, a twice-yearly forecast that looks at growth prospects for the region titled, Overconfident: How Economic and Health Fault Lines Left the Middle East and North Africa Ill-Prepared to Face COVID-19 https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/mena/publication/mena-economic-update-overconfident-how-economic-and-health-fault-lines-left-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-ill-prepare . This edition offers a stark assessment of the preparedness of MENA’s public health systems to handle a pandemic and suggests policy recommendations, including a need to improve data transparency for public health and to remedy historical under-investment in health.

The World Bank and the Economic Research Forum (ERF) are pleased to share the findings from this latest report, followed by an engaging conversation with a panel of World Bank and ERF experts.

Register here!

Agenda

Date

17/11/2021

Location

Online Webinar

Time

From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm

Speakers

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Research Fellows

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Managing Director, Economic Research Forum

Roberta V. Gatti

Speakers

Roberta V. Gatti

Chief Economist, Middle East and North Africa,...

Rachel Yuting Fan

Authors

Rachel Yuting Fan

Economist, World Bank's Office of the Chief...

David Bishai

Research Fellows

David Bishai

Professor, Department of Population and Family Health...

Sara Hassanain

Speakers

Sara Hassanain

Former Acting Minister of Health, Sudan

Amira El-Shal

Research Associates

Amira El-Shal

Acting Associate Director of Research, J-PAL MENA

Videos