WASHINGTON, August 1, 2024-Mr. Faris Hadad-Zervos has been appointed the World Bank's new Country Director for Afghanistan, effective today.
He succeeds Ms. Melinda Good, who has taken on a new World Bank assignment. Mr. Hadad-Zervos' most recent assignment was serving as the Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
A US national, he joined the World Bank in 1996 and held country manager positions in Nepal, Malaysia, and Bolivia. He also served as Manager of the Technical Cooperation Program with the Gulf Cooperation Countries, Head of Mission for Iraq, and Operations Manager for the West Bank and Gaza.
"I am excited to continue our support to the people of Afghanistan, together with our partners. My first priority is to ensure that the World Bank continues supporting basic services that are so essential to the welfare and future prospects of the Afghan people such as healthcare, education, food security, and livelihoods support, with a focus on ensuring that women and girls benefit," said Hadad-Zervos. "I am also keen to ensure that we increase our support to the private sector and micro, small and medium enterprises - including those run by women - so the private sector can create much-needed jobs and realize its potential as an engine of inclusive growth."
The World Bank, along with the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF), supports the people of Afghanistan through programs in the priority areas of health, education, livelihoods, food security, and water. This support is delivered nationwide through UN agencies and international NGOs. The World Bank also works with the private sector, supporting increasing financing for micro and small enterprises with a focus on women's entrepreneurship, and building NGO capacity to deliver services.
These programs adhere to the "principled approach", which focuses on delivering services by women, for women. All projects have internal fiduciary control and independent monitoring arrangements to ensure that funds are used for their intended purposes. The World Bank Group works with all multilateral and bilateral partners to coordinate aid for basic services for the Afghan people.
The World Bank also supports the Afghanistan Futures program of research and analysis on the state of the Afghan economy and society to inform the international policy dialogue as the international community assesses how it can support the people of Afghanistan.
