19 April 2002

World Bank, IMF to Implement New Poverty Plans,
Wolfensohn Says

Spring meetings to be held April 20-21 in Washington

By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will use their spring meetings April 20-21 to begin implementing poverty reduction strategies discussed at the March Financing for Development conference in Monterrey, Mexico, World Bank President James Wolfensohn says.

"Monterrey was an important turning point," Wolfensohn said at an April 19 press briefing, emphasizing commitments donors made there to removing trade barriers to poor countries and giving them more assistance.

Wolfensohn said that during two days of meetings the World Bank's Development Committee will focus on coordinating aid and improving its effectiveness, pressing developed countries for more open trade, particularly for poor countries, and expanding access to education. It also will discuss how much in grants the International Development Association (IDA) -- the Bank's traditional lending arm -- should give to poor countries, and aid to Afghanistan, the West Bank and Gaza, Wolfensohn said.

Wolfensohn said most of IDA's grants will go to health and education projects. He added that the Bank's "Education for All" initiative announced April 15 would concentrate on implementing programs and effectively measuring results in an initial 10 countries. The program then will expand to other countries. Education is a "particularly acute" problem in Africa and South Asia, the Bank president said.

The measure of the effectiveness of education programs should be broader than simply counting how many children are in school, Wolfensohn said. "Equally important is what children learn and how long they stay in school," he said.

National education ministers working with the Bank will decide on the content of their curriculums, which will focus on teaching a sense of global citizenship as well as basic skills, Wolfensohn said.

He said that the Netherlands has already committed 135 million euros to the education program.

Wolfensohn, who was recently in Central Asia, said he was impressed by the content of the $480 million budget Afghanistan developed for the fiscal year that began March 23 and especially by the government's plans to generate $80 million internally. But, he added, the government still needs $120-$200 million for ongoing operations.

"This is the moment for the international community to respond," Wolfensohn said. "Money now is what's needed, not promises for the future." He said he will return to the region in a few weeks to meet with Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai. He added that the Bank has more than 40 people now working in Afghanistan.

In the West Bank and Gaza, six crisis teams are implementing emergency relief, concentrating on providing food, shelter, health, trauma relief, water and electricity, Wolfensohn said. He added that the Bank will coordinate the funding of the next stage of aid -- for reconstruction -- with the United Nations.

He said there are "no conditions" on the Bank's approach to aiding Palestinians, adding that the assistance is for humanitarian purposes and will help bring about peace.

During questioning, Wolfensohn said the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative the Bank jointly administers with the IMF is working well and has reduced the debt of 26 countries. He added that HIPC and all of the Bank's poverty reduction strategies include participation by civil society "more than ever."

He said how much money donors should give to poor countries as grants instead of loans is an issue for the Bank's shareholders to decide. He said, however, he wants to continue IDA lending at the increased level the Bank projects for future years "with or without the grants."

The Bank is planning a meeting in June of international organizations, donors and aid recipients on ways to determine aid effectiveness, Wolfensohn said.