Latest news with #DavidSislen
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Business Standard
28-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
World Bank grants $50 million to improve Sri Lanka's education system
The World Bank has approved a new $50 million additional financing package for Sri Lanka through its ongoing General Education Modernisation Project, which would benefit an estimated 5,00,000 students and 1,50,000 teachers. In a press release on Friday, the World Bank said the additional funding will help keep vital education reforms on track, improve teaching quality, upgrade school facilities, and enhance student well-being. The World Bank said the additional funding will focus on underserved schools, including those in the plantation communities and those supporting children with special needs. Schools across all nine provinces, regardless of grade level, are expected to benefit from this support, the press release said. This support is about making sure every child in Sri Lanka has the chance to learn in a safe, inclusive environment and that every teacher has the tools they need to help their students thrive, said David Sislen, World Bank Divisional Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. We are excited to be working with Sri Lanka to help students and teachers reach their full potential, he added. The additional financing will support the improvement of teacher effectiveness by modernising pre-service teacher education and continuing teacher development, with a strong focus on digital learning, the release said. Harsha Aturupane, World Bank Lead Economist and Task Team Leader, said the additional funds will be utilised to benefit children in rural and estate areas, with special emphasis on female students. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Education, along with the provincial education authorities.
Time of India
28-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
World Bank grants $50 million to improve Sri Lanka's education system
The World Bank has approved a new USD 50 million additional financing package for Sri Lanka through its ongoing General Education Modernisation Project , which would benefit an estimated 5,00,000 students and 1,50,000 teachers. In a press release on Friday, the World Bank said the additional funding will help keep vital education reforms on track, improve teaching quality, upgrade school facilities, and enhance student well-being. The World Bank said the additional funding will focus on underserved schools, including those in the plantation communities and those supporting children with special needs. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia: New Container Houses (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo Schools across all nine provinces, regardless of grade level, are expected to benefit from this support, the press release said. "This support is about making sure every child in Sri Lanka has the chance to learn in a safe, inclusive environment and that every teacher has the tools they need to help their students thrive," said David Sislen, World Bank Divisional Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Live Events "We are excited to be working with Sri Lanka to help students and teachers reach their full potential," he added. The additional financing will support the improvement of teacher effectiveness by modernising pre-service teacher education and continuing teacher development , with a strong focus on digital learning, the release said. Harsha Aturupane, World Bank Lead Economist and Task Team Leader, said the additional funds will be utilised to benefit children in rural and estate areas, with special emphasis on female students. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Education, along with the provincial education authorities.
Hans India
18-06-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Air pollution reduces life expectancy in Nepal by 3.4 years: Report
Kathmandu: Air pollution has emerged as the leading health hazard for death and disability in Nepal, with the Kathmandu Valley and the Terai region emerging as air pollution hotspots of the country, according to a new World Bank Report. The report stated that air pollution reduced life expectancy by 3.4 years for the average Nepali and caused approximately 26,000 premature deaths annually. The report titled 'Towards Clean Air in Nepal: Benefits, Pollution Sources, and Solutions,' released on Tuesday, served as a foundational assessment of air pollution in the country and the airshed of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills. "It (air pollution) affects labour productivity due to increased health-related absences and impaired cognition. The negative impact on the tourism industry and the aviation sector is also significant. The economic cost of poor air quality is estimated to exceed six per cent of Nepal's GDP each year," the report further added, highlighting the severe economic consequences. According to the report, the Kathmandu Valley and the Terai being the air pollution hotspots, have not witnessed any significant improvement over the past decade. "Clean air and economic growth are not in conflict. In fact, the cost of inaction on pollution is far greater than the cost of taking bold steps today. From setting stricter industrial emission standards to promoting electric transport, the government is committed to cleaning Nepal's air," said Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, Nepal's Minister for Forests and Environment. The report suggested that the multi-sectoral and multi-regional nature of air pollution requires action on many fronts, including vehicle emissions, industrial emissions, household cooking, forest fires and transboundary pollution. "The World Bank is committed to helping Nepal strengthen its air quality improvement programs by leveraging financial and technical assistance and capacity-building support," said David Sislen, World Bank Country Division Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. "As a steadfast champion of clean air for better health and prosperity, the World Bank continues to tap into its extensive knowledge and experience from around the world to ensure that our efforts to support cleaner air in Nepal are impactful and sustainable," he further stated. According to the report, air pollution heavily contributes to various diseases: 75 per cent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cases, 46 per cent of strokes, 44 per cent of ischemic heart disease, 41 per cent of lower respiratory infections, 38 per cent of lung cancer, 30 per cent of neonatal issues like low birth weight and preterm birth, and 20 per cent of diabetes.
Fast Company
04-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
How Nepal became one of the world's fastest growing EV markets
Nepal's capital Kathmandu is one of the most polluted cities in the world. But it's also one of the fastest-growing markets for EVs: Nepal's electric cars now outsell new fossil-fueled vehicles. In the U.S., around 9% of new cars sold last year were electric. In Nepal, that number was around 65%. 'There's been a really remarkable transformation in the uptake of electric vehicles,' says David Sislen, the World Bank country director for Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Only five years ago, EVs made up a tiny fraction of new car sales in Nepal. Three-wheeled mini-buses, a popular vehicle in the country, were also mostly gas. For those vehicles now, 'the adoption rate went from less than 1% to 83%,' Sislen says. There was one main reason for the change. 'So many public policy challenges are complicated and nuanced and hard to understand, but this one is the opposite,' he says. 'It's incredibly simple. In July of 2021, the government radically dropped the import duties and excise taxes on electric vehicles. You make it cheaper, and suddenly people will adopt them.' (The country has recently slightly increased taxes on EVs, likely because it was missing the revenue. But electric vehicles are still a better bargain.) After someone owns an EV, it's also cheaper to operate than a gas or diesel vehicle. That's true anywhere, but especially in Nepal, where fuel is imported and expensive. Charging an EV could be a tenth of the cost of refueling another vehicle, or even less. The models that are available—from companies like China's BYD and India's Tata —are also desirable. (Tesla also recently started selling cars in Nepal, though Chinese alternatives are more affordable and arguably even better-performing.) 'You see electric vehicles every day, all day long,' says Sislen. 'It feels like it's half of what's on the road. And the number of [electric] dealerships is amazing.' Nepal was an early adopter of electric three-wheeled vehicles, known locally as tempos. The first wave of hundreds of electric tempos, funded by USAID and manufactured locally, rolled out in the Kathmandu Valley in the 1990s. But by the turn of the century, government policy helped kill the early industry by cutting import taxes on gas microbuses. Now, modern electric tempos are quickly growing again. Charging can still be a challenge, though charging infrastructure is also quickly growing, along with alternatives like battery swapping. 'We want to deploy technology to make the entire journey seamless,' says Deepak Raunier, an entrepreneur who is working on a network of battery-swapping stations for two-wheeler and three-wheeler EVs throughout the region. Kathmandu is also beginning to roll out a fleet of larger electric buses. Last year, Satja Yayatat, a coop bus service that serves the city, added 40 new electric buses and a large new charging station, and it now plans to add another 100. The buses cost around 33 times less to charge than fueling a bus with diesel, although the upfront cost is higher. The charging essentially runs on clean electricity, since most of the country's energy comes from hydropower. 'That makes this even more impactful—you're not charging your vehicles with coal-fired power,' says Sislen. 'You're charging them with green energy.' Nepal's climate goals under the Paris agreement include getting to 90% adoption of EVs for private four-wheeled vehicles by 2030. Though with just 0.027% of global emissions, climate isn't the biggest reason for the country to act—instead, it's air pollution. Kathmandu's geography, surrounded by mountains, traps pollutants. Climate change is leading to more drought in the winter, meaning less rain to help clear the air. Pollution comes from a variety of sources, including wildfires (also increasing because of climate change), and outdated boilers at factories, which the World Bank is pushing to help replace. But transportation is another key factor. And with fewer vehicles belching black exhaust on roads in Kathmandu, the city will be a healthier place to live.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Experts report nationwide trend that could save tens of thousands of lives each year: 'One of the highest rates in the world'
Fifty years ago, Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, kicked off an effort to electrify its public transportation. Today, a dozen dusty and abandoned electric buses are what's left of that original effort according to The Guardian. But, the outlet reports, the electric dream may be experiencing a major resurgence in the South Asian country: "More than 70% of four-wheeled passenger vehicles — largely cars and minibuses — imported into Nepal last year were electric, one of the highest rates in the world." This surge in popularity appears at least partly to be cost-driven, as import taxes on EVs, no need for gas, and less need for maintenance all favor the cleaner-energy options. Meanwhile, the switch from gas-guzzling vehicles could offer an assist in the fight against pollution in Nepal, where the Air Quality Life Index at the University of Chicago wrote in 2024 that about 50,000 people are dying annually due to dirty air: "According to the Ministry of Health, 66 percent of deaths from chronic lung disease are caused by air pollution. Similarly, 34 percent of deaths from heart disease, 37 percent of deaths from stroke, and 22 percent of deaths from respiratory infections are caused by air pollution." The Guardian further reported that Kathmandu, located in a pollution-trapping valley, is often covered over in smog. "Our analysis shows that transport contributes to about one-fourth of the fine particle matter air pollution in the valley," David Sislen of the World Bank told the publication. "Motorists switching to EVs is an important part of getting towards cleaner skies and improved health." Beyond Nepal's borders, a massive worldwide switch to EVs could help combat rising global temperatures. EVs produce far less planet-warming pollution over their lifecycles, and one country demonstrating their utility on a mass scale has the potential to encourage more to follow suit. But challenges remain, as the EV transition hasn't yet wholly remade the public transportation system Kathmandu once sought to revolutionize. The initial costs of purchasing electric buses and a lack of charging infrastructure are among the obstacles, Bhushan Tuladhar of FHI 360's USAID Clean Air and public transport cooperative Sajha Yatayat told The Guardian. FHI 360 and USAID previously worked to get electric public transit back on track after the COVID pandemic and "created green jobs in the process" with a sustainable training program to support women from under-resourced communities in becoming licensed drivers of electric three-wheelers. The Guardian reported that there are "hundreds" of such three-wheelers in operation. And the co-op Sajha Yatayat brought 40 electric buses and 24 charging stations to Kathmandu, the local Annapurna Express reported in 2024. Nepal isn't alone in its EV surge. For instance, EV sales rose by 46% in the United States in 2023. The Oakland Unified School District in California became the first major school district in the country to convert to an all-electric school bus system, and large companies like Tootbus, which runs sightseeing buses in Europe, are going electric as well. The United Nations Environment Programme has also said "2025 could be the year of the electric vehicle in developing countries." Would you want EV-charging roads installed in your town? Sign me up Depends how much it costs No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
