A growing body of evidence shows that education public -private partnerships (PPPs) which support private schooling are too often failing the most vulnerable children and risk deepening inequality. Despite this, the World Bank has been increasingly promoting education PPPs in poor countries through its lending and advice. Oxfam's research shows that over a fifth of World Bank education projects between 2013 and 2018 included support to governments for private provision of education. Detailed analysis also reveals the Bank's policy advice actively encourages governments to expand private provision of education. Case studies in Uganda and Pakistan raise concerns about unequal access, poor quality and low accountability. Low-fee private schools disproportionately exclude the poorest students and in particular girls, and rely on low-paid, poorly qualified teachers, many of whom are women. The World Bank and other donors should stop promoting and financing market -oriented education schemes and focus on expanding quality public schooling as a human right for all.

COVID-19 has exposed the widespread failure to invest in strong and universal public health systems, putting millions of lives at risk and dramatically widening health inequalities. Oxfam analysed the World Bank’s emergency health funding to 71 countries in response to the pandemic. While its response has been rapid and significant, Oxfam finds that the World Bank has missed vital opportunities to strengthen public health systems so they can tackle COVID-19 and deliver health for all in the future. The research outlined in this briefing finds that 89% of World Bank projects do not plan to support any action to remove financial barriers, including user fees, that exclude millions from life-saving care; and two-thirds lack any plans to increase the number of healthcare workers. An urgent course correction is needed to help countries effectively fight the pandemic and build fairer, more resilient universal healthcare systems.