A knowledge exchange and peer learning activities were carried out for delegations from Djibouti and Morocco seeking to learn from Mauritius. Despite different national contexts, Djibouti and Morocco are facing similar challenges that Mauritius faced in the mid-1980s, relating a largely informal Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector and improving quality of services. The objectives of the exchange were to better understand how Mauritius has been able to tackle the issues around the adoption of a legal and institutional framework that supports Early Childhood Development.

Climate Action Peer Exchange (CAPE) is a forum for peer learning, knowledge sharing, and mutual advisory support. It brings together ministers and senior technical specialists from finance ministries across the world, as well as World Bank staff and other international experts, to discuss the fiscal challenges involved in implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) established under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

A high-level delegation of officials from Afghanistan, comprising key members of the Private Sector Development Secretariat (PRISEC), visited Morocco on April 7-11, 2019. The knowledge exchange was intended to complement a World Bank Group advisory services project, the Afghanistan Business Enabling Environment, which supports the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) in improving Afghanistan’s business and investment climate to promote private sector development and economic growth.

Energy consumption is forecast to triple in Morocco as a result of its economic growth and fast urbanization. Especially given its very high reliance on imported energy, the Government of Morocco (GoM) has set ambitious goals to increase energy efficiency.  Cities use a great deal of energy, and as Morocco urbanizes, one area of clear need is for municipal authorities to lead efforts to upgrade public street lighting for better energy efficiency. Mexico is one of the countries that has successfully managed a similar program for cities.

Reforms granting autonomy to Senegalese hospitals in 2002 did not lead to improvements in hospital performance or financial management. Less than ten years after the reforms, a World Bank study requested by Senegalese policymakers found that hospitals were struggling financially and that management was not sufficiently accountable to any entity. Meanwhile, Moroccan and Tunisian hospital reforms had led to better health outcomes and more efficient hospital administration.

Morocco sought to learn from India’s success in dealing with coastal zone overexploitation to help address sustainable management of its coastal resources for rapid and sustainable growth, improved governance, poverty eradication, and better social conditions to benefit smallholder farmers and fishermen as well as private sector investors.

Challenge

To develop innovative and successful methods to address increasing water scarcity and over-exploitation of fresh and groundwater supplies affecting its agricultural industry, the Government of Morocco participated in an exchange visit to China. The exchange focused on the use of remote sensing technology applied to water management and monitoring of farmers’ consumption to manage scarce water resources.

Challenge