Brief Intro

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty. According to the World Bank's Articles of Agreement (as amended effective 16 February 1989), all of its decisions must be guided by a commitment to promote foreign investment, international trade, and facilitate capital investment. The World Bank differs from the World Bank Group, in that the World Bank comprises only two institutions: theInternational Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association(IDA), whereas the latter incorporates these two in addition to three more:[5] International Finance Corporation(IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

History
The World Bank is one of four institutions created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a related institution, is another. Delegates from many countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference. The most powerful countries in attendance were the United States and United Kingdom, which dominated negotiations. Although both are based in Washington, D.C., the World Bank is traditionally headed by a citizen of the United States while the IMF is led by a European citizen. From its conception until 1965, the bank undertook a relatively low level of lending. Fiscal conservatism and careful screening of loan applications was common. Bank staff attempted to balance the priorities of providing loans for reconstruction and development with the need to instill confidence in the bank.[7]:56-60 Bank president John McCloy selected France to be the first recipient of the World Bank aid; two other applications from Poland and Chile were rejected. The loan was for US$250 million, half the amount requested and came with strict conditions. Staff from the World Bank monitored the use of the funds, ensuring that the French government would present a balanced budget and give priority of debt repayment to the World Bank over other governments. The United States State Department told the French government that communist elements within the Cabinet needed to be removed. The French government complied with this diktat and removed the Communist coalition government. Within hours, the loan to France was approved. The Marshall Plan of 1947 caused lending by the bank to change as many European countries received aid that competed with World Bank loans. Emphasis was shifted to

non-European countries; and, until 1968, loans wereearmarked for projects that would enable a borrower country to repay loans (such projects as ports, highway systems, and power plants). From 1968 to 1980, the bank concentrated on meeting the basic needs of people in the developing world. The size and number of loans to borrowers was greatly increased as loan targets expanded from infrastructure into social services and other sectors.[9] These changes can be attributed to Robert McNamara who was appointed to the presidency in 1968 by Lyndon B. Johnson. McNamara imported a technocratic managerial style to the Bank that he had used as United States Secretary of Defense and President of the Ford Motor Company. McNamara shifted bank policy toward measures such as building schools and hospitals, improving literacy and agricultural reform. McNamara created a new system of gathering information from potential borrower nations that enabled the bank to process loan applications much faster. To finance more loans, McNamara told bank treasurer Eugene Rotberg to seek out new sources of capital outside of the northern banks that had been the primary sources of bank funding. Rotberg used the global bond market to increase the capital available to the bank. One consequence of the period of poverty alleviation lending was the rapid rise of third world debt. From 1976 to 1980 developing world debt rose at an average annual rate of 20%. In 1980, the World Bank Administrative Tribunal was established to decide on disputes between the World Bank Group and its staff where allegation of non-observance of contracts of employment or terms of appointment had not been honored. In 1980, A.W. Clausen replaced McNamara after being nominated by US President Jimmy Carter. Clausen replaced a large number of bank staffers from the McNamara era and instituted a new ideological focus in the bank. The replacement of Chief Economist Hollis B. Chenery by Anne Krueger in 1982 marked a notable policy shift at the bank. Krueger was known for her criticism of development funding, as well as of Third World governments as rent-seeking states. Lending to service third world debt marked the period of 19801989. Structural adjustment policies aimed at streamlining the economies of developing nations were also a large part of World Bank policy during this period. UNICEF reported in the late 1980s that the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank were responsible for the "reduced health, nutritional and educational levels for tens of millions of children in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. From 1989, World Bank policy changed in response to criticism from many groups. Environmental groups and NGOs were incorporated in the lending of the bank in order to mitigate the effects of the past that prompted such harsh criticism.

World Bank in accordance with its Six Strategic themes has taken more various policies into effect since 1989 up until today. It has taken various policies to preserve the environment while promoting development. In 1989, World Bank named an implementing agency in Montreal protocols to stop the ozone damage with the target of 95% phase-out of substances that deplete the ozone layer by 2015. Moreover, in order to prevent deforestation especially the Amazon, announced that it would not finance any commercial logging or infrastructure projects that do harm to the environment in 1991. In order to promote global public goods, the World Bank tries to control communicable disease such as malaria, delivering vaccines to several parts of the world and joining combat forces. In 2000, the World Bank announced a war on AIDS, and in 2011, the Bank joined the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership. Traditionally, and due to tacit agreement between the United States and Europe, the U.S. has always chosen the President of the World Bank. In 2012, for the first time, there are two candidates nominated for the presidency of the World Bank who are not from the United States. On 23 March 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the United States would nominate Jim Yong Kim as the next President of the Bank.

Criteria
Many achievements have brought the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets for 2015 within reach in some cases. For the goals to be realized, six criteria must be met: stronger and more inclusive growth in Africa and fragile states, more effort in health and education, integration of the development and environment agendas, more and better aid, movement on trade negotiations, and stronger and more focused support from multilateral institutions like the World Banks. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger: From 1990 through 2004, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty fell from almost a third to less than a fifth. Although results vary widely within regions and countries, the trend indicates that the world as a whole can meet the goal of halving the percentage of people living in poverty. Africa's poverty, however, is expected to rise, and most of the 36 countries where 90% of the world's undernourished children live are in Africa. Less than a quarter of countries are on track for achieving the goal of halving under-nutrition. Achieve Universal Primary Education: The number of children in school in developing countries increased from 80% in 1991 to 88% in 2005. Still, about 72 million children of primary school age, 57% of them girls, were not being educated as of 2005.

 Promote Gender Equality: The tide is turning slowly for women in the labor market, yet far more women than men- worldwide more than 60% are contributing but unpaid family workers. The World Bank Group Gender Action Plan was created to advance women's economic empowerment and promote shared growth. Reduce Child Mortality: There is some what improvement in survival rates globally; accelerated improvements are needed most urgently in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 10 million-plus children under five died in 2005; most of their deaths were from preventable causes. Improve Maternal Health: Almost all of the half million women who die during pregnancy or childbirth every year live in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. There are numerous causes of maternal death that require a variety of health care interventions to be made widely accessible. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases: Annual numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS deaths have fallen, but the number of people living with HIV continues to grow. In the eight worst-hit southern African countries, prevalence is above 15 percent. Treatment has increased globally, but still meets only 30 percent of needs (with wide variations across countries). AIDS remains the leading cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa (1.6 million deaths in 2007). There are 300 to 500 million cases of malaria each year, leading to more than 1 million deaths. Nearly all the cases and more than 95 percent of the deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ensure Environmental Sustainability: Deforestation remains a critical problem, particularly in regions of biological diversity, which continues to decline. Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing faster than energy technology advancement. Develop a Global Partnership for Development: Donor countries have renewed their commitment. Donors have to fulfill their pledges to match the current rate of core program development. Emphasis is being placed on the Bank Group's collaboration with multilateral and local partners to quicken progress toward the MDGs' realization.

Challenges for World Bank

The Poorest Countries

The Challenge: Many of the UN's Millennium Development Goals for 2015 seem out of reach for the world's poorest countries. An estimated 1.4 billion people survive on incomes of $1.25 or less a day. Rising food prices threaten to increase hunger and malnutrition, while climate change is affecting agriculture, the mainstay of most people in poor countries. Communicable diseases, especially HIV/AIDS and malaria, are widespread. Many of the poorest countries in Africa are landlocked and lack reliable electricity, hampering the development of business and trade. What is World Bank Doing: The World Bank Group has assembled record funding to help the poorest countries through its International Development Association (IDA). It places new emphasis on fighting hunger and malnutrition, particularly through better agricultural productivity. It encourages regional integration and helping develop infrastructure: power, water, transport, and information and communications technologies. To produce faster results, IDA is undertaking joint programs with International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group's lead agency for private sector development, as well as with other nonprofit organizations. The Challenge: Many of the world's poorest countries have faced a vicious cycle of conflict and poverty. Some 80 percent of the 20 poorest countries have suffered a major war in the past 15 years, bringing extraordinary suffering to their people and often affecting the larger region. Peace can also be fragile: Countries emerging from war face a 44 percent chance of relapsing within five years. Even with rapid progress on economic recovery, it can take a generation or more just to return to prewar living standards. What is World Bank Doing: Helping prevent conflict and support reconstruction remains a critical part of the World Bank's global mission of poverty reduction; in fact, World bank was first founded to support reconstruction after World War II. The World Bank Group is working with many partners, including donor trust funds and the United Nations, to offer more responsive, flexible and comprehensive solutions in difficult environments.

Middle-Income Countries
The Challenge: Middle-income countries are still home to most of the worlds poor people, often with a heavy concentration in specific regions or ethnic groups. These countries are generally creditworthy and have some access to

financial markets, but they face constraints in mobilizing the funds they need to invest in infrastructure and essential services. They also need help to reform policies and institutions in ways that improve the investment climate. What is World Bank Doing: The World Bank Group is working to meet middleincome countries specific needs with tailored assistance that draws on an array of competitive financial products and knowledge and learning services. These countries are also increasingly important partners in our work to address critical cross-border and global issues, such as clean energy, trade integration, environmental protection, international financial stability and the fight against infectious diseases.

Global Public Goods

The Challenge: Global public goods are aspects of development that reach across borders: Examples include the environment, public health, international trade and financial infrastructure. Actions are often needed that extend beyond what market systems or individual countries can do on their own -- developing new vaccines, for instance, and reducing carbon emissions to address global warming. What is World Bank Doing: The World Bank Group is helping spur multilateral action and global partnerships involving governments, nonprofit organizations and socially responsible corporations. Our work on global public goods focuses on the environment, especially climate change; controlling communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria; preventing and mitigating crises in international financial systems; and promoting an open, multilateral trade system.

The Arab world

The Challenge: The Arab world has strong potential for growth and development, but it remains poorly integrated into the global economy apart from the oil sector. It has the highest unemployment among developing regions, as well as the lowest economic participation by women. The regions poor and rich countries alike suffer from such problems as water scarcity, lack of economic diversity, weak public accountability, and conflict. What is World Bank Doing: The World Bank Group, in close cooperation with the League of Arab States, has established the Arab World Initiative (AWI), a partnership to foster effective collaboration in the interests of economic integration and knowledge sharing among the countries of the Arab world. The initiative focuses on three key pillars: Human Development and Improving the Quality of Education, Infrastructure Projects, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development. These pillars are detailed on the corresponding Arab World Initiative website, featuring the latest data, research, multimedia and documentation about efforts in the Arab world.

 Knowledge and Learning

The Challenge: Poor and developing countries seek the World Bank Groups expertise as much as they seek its financial assistance. As clients, they increasingly expect integrated solutions to address their particular needs. To become more economically competitive, they need data to benchmark their progress. More than ever, in-depth analysis of local challenges and practical experience gathered from around the world form the groundwork for sustainable development. What is World Bank Doing: The World Bank Group is committed to remaining the premier source of development knowledge through reports, data and analytical tools, conferences, and the Internet. World Bank is enhancing its capacity to share this knowledge globally and are helping build partnerships and expertise in client countries. They have moved toward an open data platform, making Web-based information more accessible and interactive, and improving the focus and depth of learning and capacity-building programs.