It is under these precarious conditions that the World Bank has published two new reports: the latest “Afghanistan Development Update” and the third round of its ongoing “Afghanistan Welfare Monitoring Survey.” These reports lay out the country’s current economic context and its trends in welfare and poverty, underlining the severe problems facing the Afghan people. On November 8, USIP and the World Bank hosted a conversation with two of the reports’ authors as well as leading experts on Afghanistan’s economy.

Scott Worden, welcoming remarks
Director, Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace

Eduardo Olaberria, opening remarks
Program Leader, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions for Afghanistan, The World Bank 

Silvia Redaelli 
Senior Economist, The World Bank 

Muhammad Waheed
Senior Country Economist, The World Bank

Khalid Payenda 
Director and Cofounder, Institute for Development and Economic Affairs 

Paul Fishstein 
Non-resident Fellow, Center on International Cooperation, New York University

Naheed Sarabi
Director and Cofounder, Institute for Development and Economic Affairs 

Bill Byrd, moderator
Senior Expert, Afghanistan, U.S Institute of Peace

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/afghanistans-economic-poverty-and-gender-issues