On Saturday both the IMF and World Bank backed a bold poverty agenda to eradicate extreme poverty within a generation. The goal comes from the Development Committee – a subcommittee of both the IMF and the World Bank.

This bold poverty agenda serves as a “historic opportunity” to make a difference. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim has called the initiative an important step towards the eradication of world poverty, but one that will require focus, innovation, and commitments from everyone in order to succeed.

The logistics of the Development Committee’s plan include reducing the percentage of people who currently live on less than $1.25 a day to three percent of the global population by 2030. Additionally, the committee would like to work towards raising the incomes of the poorest 40 percent of people in each country.

While this seems to be a noble and necessary goal, the committee did note the obstacles they will need to overcome to be successful. The committee and agenda will need to be supported by strong growth across the developing world, as well as an unmatched translation of growth into poverty reduction in several of the world’s poorest countries.

Among the aforementioned challenges, the committee has also recognized the institutional and governance challenges that will have to be overcome, along with substantial investments in infrastructure and agricultural productivity. All of the above challenges, while difficult to overcome, express the World Bank and IMF’s renewed commitment to eradicate extreme poverty.

The committee’s exuberance for this goal stems from Dr. Kim’s passion for eradicating global poverty. The committee members have supported Dr. Kim’s vision. Committee chairman, Marek Belka, explains that Dr. Kim has been very influential in expressing the World Bank Group as a partner in the fight against extreme poverty.

This announcement aligns closely with the World Bank’s core mission of creating a world free of poverty and follows the recent spring meetings in Washington.

– Caitlin Zusy 

Source: AFP
Photo: Google