The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) has provided advice on investments and policies to its partners and clients in developing countries for more than 21 years. Much of its early work, such as that on low-cost technologies, demand-responsiveness, strategic sanitation planning, and participatory hygiene have now become standard approaches in the sector. Drawing from its field network in over 30 countries, the Program is continuing to explore new frontiers of knowledge. For example, it is identifying and testing private sector partnerships that provide services to the poor and helping its partners gain access to current sector practices. The Program has been a forerunner of a growing list of partnership programs managed by the World Bank. Its well-established global network, strong tradition of client responsiveness, and continuous open dialogue with World Bank clients in developing countries provide a model for development practice. The Program is focusing its attention and resources on the most critical countries and regions of its operation. It is building partnerships with a broader range of stakeholders and developing alliances with the leading international agencies and sources of knowledge in the sector. Limiting further overall growth, the Program's management is seeking to reduce fixed costs and increase flexibility to enable the WSP to reduce risk and better respond to opportunities and new client demands.

De acuerdo con el Índice Global del Hambre (GHI, por sus siglas en inglés) de 2012, el hambre a nivel mundial ha disminuido algo desde 1990 pero continúa siendo “serio”. El promedio global enmascara diferencias dramáticas entre regiones y países. A nivel regional, los mayores puntajes del GHI se encuentran en Asia meridional y en el África Subsahariana. Asia meridional redujo sus puntajes de GHI de forma significativa entre 1990 y 1996 —principalmente a través de una reducción en la proporción de niños con bajo peso— pero no pudo mantener este rápido progreso. Y aunque el África Subsahariana progresó menos que Asia meridional en la década de 1990, ha logrado reducir la brecha a partir del nuevo milenio, con un puntaje del GHI en 2012 apenas por debajo del obtenido por Asia meridional. | Non-PR | IFPRI2; GRP24 | COM; MTID; DGO; EPTD; PHND; WCAO

Book | COM; MTID; DGO; EPTD; PHND; WCAO | De acuerdo con el Índice Global del Hambre (GHI, por sus siglas en inglés) de 2012, el hambre a nivel mundial ha disminuido algo desde 1990 pero continúa siendo “serio”. El promedio global enmascara diferencias dramáticas entre regiones y países. A nivel regional, los mayores puntajes del GHI se encuentran en Asia meridional y en el África Subsahariana. Asia meridional redujo sus puntajes de GHI de forma significativa entre 1990 y 1996 —principalmente a través de una reducción en la proporción de niños con bajo peso— pero no pudo mantener este rápido progreso. Y aunque el África Subsahariana progresó menos que Asia meridional en la década de 1990, ha logrado reducir la brecha a partir del nuevo milenio, con un puntaje del GHI en 2012 apenas por debajo del obtenido por Asia meridional. | IFPRI2; GRP24 | Non-PR

The links between climate variability, depicted by time series of oceanic indices, and changes in total water and groundwater storage are investigated across nine large aquifer basins of the African continent. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission’s observations represent a remarkable tool that can provide insight into the dynamics of terrestrial hydrology in areas where direct in situ observations are limited. In order to evaluate the impact of interannual and multidecadal climate variability on groundwater resources, this study assesses the relationship between synoptic controls on climate and total water storage estimates from (i) GRACE from 2002 to 2013 and (ii) a two-variable climate-driven model that is able to reconstruct past storage changes from 1982 to 2011. The estimates are then compared to time series of groundwater levels to show the extent to which total water storage covaries with groundwater storage. Results indicate that rainfall patterns associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are the main driver of changes in interannual groundwater storage, whereas the Atlantic MultiDecadal Oscillation (AMO) plays a significant role in decadal to multidecadal variability. The combined effect of ENSO and AMO could trigger significant changes in recharge to the aquifers and groundwater storage, in particular in the Sahel. These findings could help decision-makers prepare more effective climate-change adaptation plans at both national and transboundary levels.

The Sustainable Development Goals have set an agenda for transformational change in water access, aiming for secure household connections globally. Despite this goal, communal groundwater supplies are likely to remain the main source of improved water supplies for many rural areas in Africa and South Asia for decades to come. Understanding the poor functionality of existing communal supplies remains, therefore, a priority. A critical first step is to establish a sector-wide definition of borehole supply functionality and a standard method of its assessment.