STRIVING FOR CLEAN AIR

Air Pollution and Public Health in South Asia

By the World Bank

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). This pollution causes an estimated 2 million premature deaths in the region each year and results in significant economic costs.

Controlling air pollution is difficult without a better understanding of the activities that cause emissions of particulate matter. Air pollution travels long distances in South Asia and gets trapped in large ‘airsheds’ that are shaped by climatology and geography. Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in South Asia identifies six major airsheds in the region and analyzes four scenarios for reducing air pollution with varying degrees of policy implementation and cooperation among countries.

SOUTH ASIA DEVELOPMENT MATTERS

June 2023. 114 pages.

Stock no. C211831

(ISBN: 978-1-4648-1831-8). US$49.50

The analysis shows that cooperation between different jurisdictions within an airshed is crucial, and a schematic road map with three phases is proposed. The phases in the road map may overlap when the rate of progress differs, depending on local circumstances. Phase 1 would improve monitoring and institutions; Phase 2 would introduce additional and joint targets for cost-effective abatement; and Phase 3 would mainstream air quality in the economy.

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Hidden Potential

Rethinking Informality in South Asia

January 2023. 354 pages. Stock no. C211834 (ISBN: 9781464818349). US$ 43.95

Bridging The Basic Learning Gap

Supporting Teachers in Middle-Income East Asia and the Pacific

By the World Bank

Middle-income countries in the East Asia and the Pacific region were already experiencing serious learning deficits prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 related school disruptions only made things worse. Learning poverty—defined as the percentage of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand an age-appropriate text—is as high as 90 percent in several countries. Several large Southeast Asian countries consistently perform well below expectations on adolescent learning assessments.

Bridging the Basic Learning Gap: Supporting Teachers in Middle-Income East Asia and the Pacific examines key factors affecting student learning in the region, with an emphasis on the central role of teachers and teaching quality. It also analyzes the role of education technologies, which came into widespread use during the pandemic, and examines the political economy of education reform. The report presents recommendations on how countries can strengthen teaching to improve learning and, in doing so, can enhance productivity, growth, and future development in the region.

WORLD BANK EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC REGIONAL REPORT

October 2023. 150 pages.

Stock no. C211904

(ISBN: 978-1-4648-1904-9). US$43.95