World Bank

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2009 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today said that he will attend the Group of Eight (G8) Agricultural Ministerial in Treviso, Italy, April 18-20.

"Hunger and malnutrition afflict more than one billion people around the world, causing human suffering, political instability and economic stagnation," said Vilsack. "This ministerial affirms our strong commitment to global food security and provides a unique opportunity to work with other agriculture ministers in developing a shared strategy to deal with food security issues."    » read more »

Despite volatility, rise of foreign banks in developing countries holds promise

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 10, 2008 - In the wake of financial turmoil in high income countries and amidst high food and energy prices, developing countries' growth is easing but is still robust.

Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River, South Africa: Photo by Pet_r (CC)

Private capital flows to emerging markets, which hit a record $1 trillion in 2007, are expected to drop to around $800 billion by 2009, which would still be the second highest level ever, says a new World Bank report.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2008 – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$15.7 million grant for the Republic of Haiti to provide basic infrastructure and social services for disadvantaged urban communities.

Public school in Labadee Village, Haiti.: Photo by Ali (CC)    » read more »

03 June 2008 -- A top World Bank official says the institution is committed to building a prosperous and stable Afghanistan but the people must do their part by fighting corruption and improving services.

World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala just concluded a three-day visit to Afghanistan in which she met with President Hamid Karzai, Cabinet ministers and members of the donor community.

In a statement issued Tuesday Okonjo-Iweala says much has been accomplished in Afghanistan in a short amount of time and she called on the international community to support the nation and its development.    » read more »

May 14, 2008 — The HIV/AIDS epidemic will remain for the foreseeable future an unprecedented economic, social, and human challenge to Sub-Saharan Africa. This, according to a new strategy on HIV/AIDS in Africa launched by the World Bank Group on May 14. As well, African countries must continue to champion efforts to slow and reverse the rate of new HIV infections.    » read more »

Study urges countries to further cut red tape and barriers to entrepreneurs

BRUSSELS, May 14, 2008 — Big gains in the productivity of workers in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union during the past decade have helped boost growth and living standards, but more must be done to eliminate red tape and barriers to enable firms to become more productive in a rapidly globalizing world, says a new World Bank report.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2008 – World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said the institution was ready to help the victims of China’s earthquake as he expressed his condolences following the disaster that hit the central province of Sichuan on May 12, killing about 15,000 people.

“The World Bank stands ready to support the Chinese Government in any way it may find useful in the recovery and reconstruction process,” Mr. Zoellick wrote in a May 12 letter to Chinese Premier Mr. Wen Jiabao. “Our thoughts are with the Chinese people at this tragic and sorrowful time,” he wrote.

Mr. Zoellick said the Bank Group would draw on its considerable expertise in catastrophe management and reconstruction.    » read more »

ACCRA, GHANA, May 9, 2008—The World Bank Group has selected 16 companies and organizations as winners of the Development Marketplace competition for their innovative products or services tailored to Sub-Saharan Africa’s off-grid lighting market.

LED lighting at home in Accra, Ghana: Photo by The World Bank, International Finance Corporation and Lighting Africa

The winners will receive up to $200,000 to implement projects that offer affordable, clean, and safe off-grid lighting and that improve access to lighting for people living without electricity across the region.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2008 – High food prices are threatening recent gains in overcoming poverty and malnutrition, and are likely to persist over the medium term, says a new World Bank Group policy note released today.

“Poor people are suffering daily from the impact of high food prices, especially in urban areas and in low income countries,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

A typical meal for local inhabitants in the Amazon region of Brazil, near Manaus: Photo by Julio Pantoja / World Bank (CC)    » read more »

Rising Food Prices May Require Stepped Up Social Assistance to Help Poor

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2008 — World Bank officials today warned that the countries of Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and Central Asia face slower economic growth as a result of the economic downturn in the U.S. and Western Europe, and should step up their efforts to protect poor and vulnerable people from the effect of higher food and energy prices.

Rice-fields in a valley near Lao Cai, northern Vietnam: Photo by Tran Thi Hoa / World Bank (CC)    » read more »

09 April 2008 -- World Bank President Robert Zoellick is warning that high food prices could wipe out hard-won gains against poverty and malnutrition.

Zoellick says in a new World Bank report issued Wednesday that people in poor urban areas and low-income countries are suffering daily from the impact of high prices.

Will Eat For Food: Photo by Mikael Altemark (CC)

The report said the price of wheat in Yemen has doubled in the past year and could reverse all the gains made in poverty reduction made in the past 10 years in the country.    » read more »

TOKYO, 1 April, 2008 - Growth in developing East Asia will decline by around one to two percentage points to around 8.5% in 2008 as a result of the unfolding financial turmoil in the US and the resulting global slowdown, says the World Bank’s latest six-monthly review of the East Asia and Pacific region’s economies.

But despite the likely drop from recent double-digit levels, overall growth remains healthy across the region and most countries are well positioned to navigate the global slowdown because of the investments they’ve made in the last 10 years in structural reforms and putting sound macroeconomic policies in place, the report says.

World Bank: East Asia Economic Growth 2006-2009    » read more »

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2007— The World Bank approved today a US$60 million investment loan to improve the sustainable management of forest resources, conserve biodiversity in protected areas and forest landscapes. The project will benefit small producers which will integrate forestry development activities and conservation.    » read more »

BEIJING, March 12, 2008 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a loan of $100 million to the People’s Republic of China to help improve the water supply and manage wastewater in a major urban area of Anhui Province – around 400 kilometers west of Shanghai in the east of the country.    » read more »

The current estimate of gas flared or wasted in the Middle East and North Africa region is about 50 billion cubic meters annually, which makes it the second largest flaring region in the world

DOHA, March 5 — The World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR) today called on oil producing countries and companies in the Middle East to join worldwide efforts in reducing the burning of natural gas or flaring, and in increasing energy efficiency to mitigate impact on climate change.    » read more »