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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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What is the World Bank? You may have heard about the World Bank, especially these days, because
there is so much news about the World Bank providing The World Bank is made up of 184 member countries which are jointly responsible for its finance and how its money is spent. The foremost responsibility of the World Bank is to minimise the gap between the rich and poor countries in the world. In simple words the institution channels the resources of rich countries, into poor countries to build schools and health centres, provide water and electricity, fight disease, and protect the environment. The World Bank was set up during World War II at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The Bank initially helped rebuild Europe after the war. Now that you know that the "World Bank" is not a bank, you may wonder why it is called a bank? The 'World Bank is the name that has come to be used for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) which are part of this world body. Together, these organizations provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries.Interest-free credit and grant financing comes from the IDA, the world's largest source of concessional assistance. Some 40 rich countries provide the money for this funding, by making contributions every four years. Countries that borrow from the IBRD have more time to repay them than any loan borrowed from a commercial bank. In addition to the IBRD and IDA, three other organizations make up the World Bank Group. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) promotes private sector investment by supporting high-risk sectors and countries.The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) provides political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors and lenders in developing countries. And the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) settles investment disputes between foreign investors and their host countries. The World Bank, along with 189 countries and numerous organizations, is committed to fighting poverty. The Millennium Development Goals define specific targets in terms of school enrolments, child mortality, maternal health, disease, and access to clean water, to be met by 2015. Among numerous other global partnerships, the World Bank has placed support for the fight against HIV/AIDS at the top of its agenda. It is the world's largest long-term financer of HIV/AIDS programmes. Current Bank commitments for HIV/AIDS amount to more than US dollars 1.3 billion, with half of that for sub-Saharan Africa. The Bank is currently involved in more than 1,800 projects in virtually every sector in developing countries. Provision of micro credit in Bosnia Herzegovina, raising AIDS awareness in communities in Guinea, supporting education of girls in Bangladesh and improving health care delivery in Mexico, helping East Timor rebuild upon independence, are some of the programmes carried out by the World Bank in countries throughout the world. *** 10 things you should know... The World Bank... 1. is the largest external funder of education 2. and of HIV/AIDS programmes 3. is a leader in the anti-corruption effort 4. strongly supports debt relief 5. is one of the largest funders of biodiversity projects 6. works with partners 7. helps bring clean water, electricity and transport to the poor 8. involves civil society in every aspect of its work 9. helps countries emerging from conflict 10. is responding to the voices of poor people Source: The World Bank **** Financial aid Some 10,000 development professionals from nearly every country in the world work in the International Bank's Washington DC headquarters or in its country offices. In the fiscal year 2004, IDA provided US dollars nine billion in financing for 158 projects in 62 low-income countries. In 2004 the World Bank provided US dollars 20.1 billion for 245 projects in developing countries worldwide. Besides IDA funds, very little of the Bank's income is provided by its member countries. Over the past few years, the World Bank has put significant resources into activities, meant to have had a global impact. **** Key Facts
Composed of five organizations : IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID Headquarters: Washington, DC with more than 100 country offices Mission : Our dream is a world free of poverty... Established: July 1, 1944 by a conference of 44 governments in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire Membership: 184 countries Staff: Around 9,300 employees in Washington and the country offices Source : The World Bank |
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financial aid to
assist our country, after the massive devastation caused by the tsunami.
But do you know what it is and what it really does? Remember, the World
Bank is not a 'bank' in the common sense. It is one of the United Nations'
specialized agencies.
President : James D. Wolfensohn
