World Bank Fund For Poorest Countries Delivers Record Support During Economic Crisis
The World Banks fund for the planets 79 poorest countries has delivered record support during the global economic crisis, the international financial agency said Friday.
During the 15th replenishment period of the International Development Association (IDA15) from July 2008 to October 2009, IDA commitments reached a record level of 16,9 billion US dollar, a 50 percent increase over the comparable period of IDA14 (IDA er Verdensbankens afdeling for rentefrie lån med lang afdragstid).
Africa continued to be the IDA’s largest recipient, with 55 percent of total commitments and 46 percent of total disbursements. South Asia came in second, accounting for about a third of commitments and disbursements (udbetalinger).
– Although the IDA operates under a fixed, three-year financial envelope, we have leaned forward, including through front-loaded and fast-tracked assistance, to scale up support to poor countries severely hit by the crisis, said World Bank President Robert Zoellick.
The Mid-Term Review of IDA15 advanced a proposal for the creation of a dedicated crisis response window in the IDA to assist low income countries in mitigating (modvirke/lindre) the impact of the global economic crisis.
– While there are signs of recovery in developed countries, the risk of deepening poverty remains real in IDA countries, said World Bank Managing Director and Chair of the IDA15 Mid-Term Review Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The crisis response window in IDA15 would provide additional funding for the protection of core spending on health, education, safety nets, infrastructure and agriculture in IDA-only countries, according to the World Bank.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
