Fast payments beyond speed: India’s pioneering experience Laurent GonnetGynedi SrinivasGuillermo Galicia Rabadan January 21, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/psd/fast-payments-beyond-speed--india-s-pioneering-experience India’s digital payments journey has reshaped global imagination. At a moment when many countries still viewed fast payments as tools for high-value bank-to-bank settlement, India reimagined them as a universal service built for people and everyday life. That vision fundamentally reshaped understanding how payments could improve lives.

Building Drought Resilience Across Southern Africa: A Regional Imperative Satu KahkonenAnna Wellenstein January 22, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/africacan/building-drought-resilience-across-southern-africa-a-regional-imperative This originally appeared in the Eswatini Daily News on January 21, 2026 Across Southern Africa, drought is destroying livelihoods at an alarming rate. This is not just an environmental crisis. It is an economic emergency that demands urgent action. According to Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, a newly released World Bank report, between 600,000 and 900,000 people lose their jobs each year in Sub-Saharan Africa because of water scarcity. That’s a loss equivalent to 7-9% of all new jobs created annually. For the two-thirds of the region's population who depend on rain-fed agriculture, these dry shocks don't just threaten crops; they threaten survival. Rural employment drops by 7.4 percentage points when drought strikes, hitting women, older workers, landless farmers, and low-skilled laborers the hardest. The impact on landless rural farmers is nearly six times greater than average.

Weekly links January 23: communication as a key research tool, Indian firms vs Chinese competition, doing TA well, and more… David McKenzie January 23, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/impactevaluations/weekly-links-january-23--communication-as-a-key-research-tool--i The increasing value of communication of research as grant funding shifts from government to philanthropy and the private sector.

Bridging the gap in GovTech: Why progress remains uneven around the globe João Ricardo VasconcelosCem Dener January 23, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/governance/bridging-the-gap-in-govtech--why-progress-remains-uneven-around- Governments worldwide are embracing technology to modernize the public sector and deliver better services to their citizens. The World Bank’s GovTech approach plays a key role in supporting this transformation by helping countries build strong digital foundations and turning them into tangible results. One of the main tools in this effort is the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI), which we use to track progress—and to understand where gaps remain in the global digital government landscape.

Armenia to Improve Access to Affordable Housing for Refugees and Catalyze Private Investments to Mortgage Market with World Bank Support This page in:English Հայերեն

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/12/23/armenia-to-improve-access-to-affordable-housing-for-refugees-and-catalyze-private-investments-to-mortgage-market WASHINGTON, December 23, 2025—The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved $250 million in financing for the Armenia Housing Response and Mortgage Market Enhancement Project to improve access to affordable housing for refugee households while strengthening the country’s housing and mortgage systems.

A Healthy Future: Primary Health Care and the Chronic Disease Epidemic in East Asia and Pacific Full report: English

https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eap/publication/a-healthy-future In East Asia and Pacific (EAP), people are living longer but not necessarily healthier lives. An epidemic of chronic diseases is taking hold, affecting workers in their prime, eroding productivity, and escalating health care costs. The most effective strategies to address this health crisis are best implemented by a strong primary health care system early on. However, many EAP countries are using outdated models. This new report proposes reforms of primary health care to help deliver a healthier and more prosperous future for people in the EAP region.

Stronger Primary Health Care Can Boost Growth and Create Jobs across East Asia and Pacific This page in:English Tiếng Việt 中文 ខ្មែរ

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/01/21/stronger-primary-health-care-can-boost-growth-and-create-jobs-across-east-asia-and-pacific WASHINGTON, DC, January 21, 2026 — East Asia and Pacific (EAP) is at a crossroads, as a surge of chronic, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) threatens to overwhelm health systems and stall income growth. A new World Bank report A Healthy Future: Primary Health Care and the Chronic Disease Epidemic in EAP reveals that urgent reforms in primary health care (PHC) could help EAP meet this mounting challenge and secure a healthier, more prosperous future.