Sameh Wahba is the Regional Director for Sustainable Development at the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia region. In this capacity, he oversees all World Bank lending, technical assistance, partnerships, and policy advisory work in sustainable development the region, including agriculture and food, climate change, environment, natural resources and the blue economy, social inclusion and sustainability, water, urban, disaster risk management, resilience, and land. He oversees a portfolio of $10bn in lending commitments and a team of 200 professionals based in DC and 23 regional offices. Previously, he worked as Global Director for Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice. He holds a Ph.D. in urban planning from Harvard University and has 25 years’ experience in urban development, land, housing, disaster risk management, infrastructure, and sustainable development. His publications on cities, housing, land, infrastructure, and finance include books, chapters in edited volumes and articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Cities Council and is part of the advisory boards for Resilient Cities Network, the WRI Ross Center for Cities, Cities Alliance, and the Penn Institute for Urban Research.
The interlinked crises of climate change, lingering effects of Covid-19 and the ensuing food and energy crises need to be tackled together – and as this column explains, this is best done within the broader context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and in a framework of effective partnerships.