Two-thirds of the income gap between developed and developing countries can be attributed to disparities in human capital. Yet, budgets for critical human capital investments are tightening right when investment is needed most as we see gains slowing.  Many countries are responding by adding funds on top of fragmented systems, but this rarely produces sustained results. Instead, governments need to be strategic about their investments so that they translate into tangible results for growth and productivity.

The Human Capital Trust Fund (HCTF) supports exactly this kind of investment. Here are three recent examples of what it looks like in practice.

• In Gambia, the HCTF supported advocacy efforts to combat Female Genital…