The World Bank announced Thursday that it has secured nearly $24 billion in commitments to support loans and grants to some of the world’s poorest countries, leveraging its $100 billion spending cap. Power will arise.
Donor countries pledged $23.7 billion to replenish the International Development Association (IDA), which provides the bank’s concessional loans, a World Bank spokesman told AFP.
That’s a slight increase from the nearly $23.5 billion raised in the last fundraising round three years ago.
This funding enables the bank to leverage its resources by borrowing from the financial markets, significantly increasing the funds available to support development initiatives.
Total potential loans and grants are now nearly $100 billion, up from the $93 billion projected in 2021.
“We believe the historic success of this IDA21 replenishment is a vote of confidence and support from donors and clients,” a World Bank statement read, referring to the current IDA funding round.
World Bank President Ajay Banga said in a separate statement, referring to developing countries eligible for IDA support, that “the funding will be channeled to support the 78 countries that need it most.”
He added that it would “help stabilize economies and create jobs, while providing resources to invest in health, education, infrastructure and climate resilience.”
The World Bank’s announcement follows two days of talks in the South Korean capital, Seoul, which is still under martial law after President Yoon Seok-yul declared martial law late Tuesday local time. Clashes after the makers backed down under pressure.
IDA has become the single largest source of concessional, or below-market, climate finance, and countries in Africa have accounted for nearly two-thirds of all IDA funding over the past decade, according to the World Bank. has gone to help.
IDA replenishment is an important part of the bank’s operations, and takes place once every three years, with most of the funding coming from the US, Japan and several European countries including the UK, Germany and France.
That year, the United States announced ahead of schedule that it would pledge $4 billion in new funding to the IDA, while other countries, including Norway and Spain, also significantly increased their funding.
Thirty-five former recipients of IDA assistance have graduated to developing economy status in recent decades, including China, Turkey, and South Korea, many of which are now donors to the Fund.