Continued deterioration of living conditions in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa threatens the stability and the development prospects of these regions, the Development Committee of the World Bank has said.
It also recognised the need to assist countries to escape permanent crisis cycles by deepening commitment to infrastructure, job creation, social reintegration, agricultural production and food security.
In a release issued at the end of the meeting of its Joint Ministerial Committee of the Board of Governors and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries held in Washington DC, the Development Committee urged the bank and the International Monetary fund (IMF) to remain actively involved in the Middle east and North Africa (MENA) countries, especially supporting policy reforms.
“We welcome the new phase of the partnership with Myanmar and urge the WBG and the IMF to offer strong support in accelerating sustainable growth and shared prosperity. We also call on the WBG to foster regional integration and, where appropriate, to support regional projects,” the Development Committee said.
It also welcomed the International Development Association’s IDA17’s overarching theme of maximizing development impact, by further leveraging synergies with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), as well as its focus on inclusive growth, gender equality, FCS, and climate resilience, including disaster risk management.
Similarly it expressed support for the contribution of the private sector to growth and job creation, saying: “Private investment flows have grown as sources of development finance and are a key factor in achieving our goals. With a proper enabling environment, adequate infrastructure, and policies that promote competition, entrepreneurship and job creation, the private sector can support shared prosperity and offer real opportunities to all citizens, especially women and young adults.
“We strongly value the mandate of IFC and MIGA in supporting the development of a dynamic private sector and encourage the WBG to adopt a group wide approach to leverage its development impact.”
In other matters, the Development Committee encouraged the WBG and the IMF to provide support to countries that want to catalyze low-carbon growth and climate resilience in cities; scale up efforts towards climate-smart agriculture; and rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, with due regard to affordability of energy for the poor.
“In the last two decades, the number of people living in urban settlements rose from 1.5 billion to 3.6 billion. Many live in areas exposed to disasters and climate risks, which poses an urgent and direct threat to development efforts. We welcome the Global Monitoring Report’s findings and recommendations.
“Urbanization must be managed effectively so slums do not overwhelm cities, exacerbate urban poverty, and derail MDG achievements. We also support disaster risk management and climate change adaptation as sound investments that should be integrated into the WBG’s work. We look forward to a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of The Sendai Report: Managing Disaster Risks for a Resilient Future at the next Spring Meetings.”
On poverty, it expressed happiness that sustained economic growth in developing countries over the past decade has resulted in the achievement of the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to halve extreme poverty by 2015, well ahead of schedule.
It also promised its strong commitment to the MDGs and called on the World Bank Group (WBG) to scale up its efforts to support countries in reaching the MDG targets and to participate actively in setting an ambitious post-2015 agenda.
“Significant global challenges remain. While the outlook for developing economies is promising and downside risks have diminished in the short-run, global macroeconomic stability is not yet restored, unemployment is still high, and food prices continue to be volatile and to bear down on the poorest,” it observed.
“Conflicts and poor governance hinder development in many regions, and climate change and natural disasters put social and economic achievements at risk. Meeting these challenges requires successful domestic policy responses, international cooperation and effective international institutions.”
