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World Bank Hosting Public Consultations on Operations in Africa June 20th, 2010
The World Bank Group is consulting and seeking input about World Bank operations in Africa. The series of public consultations is focusing on how to improve World Bank operations in Africa and is expected to be completed in January 2011. The aim of this consultative process is to raise awareness about opportunities and challenges facing Africa and to gather a diverse perspective about the Bank’s operations there. The global economic crisis coupled with changes in Africa’s political and socioeconomic landscape has made it necessary to revise World Bank operations in Africa.
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Cuts in International AIDS Funding Risk Lives in Africa June 4th, 2010
As international donors in HIV/AIDS funding, the U.S., World Bank, UNITAID, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, retreat from funding HIV and AIDS programs, years of progress in HIV treatment in Africa are being threatened. The lives of HIV-positive people are increasingly on the line, according to a new report by the international Non Governmental Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The report, No time to quit: HIV/AIDS Treatment Gap Widening in Africa looks at eight sub-Saharan countries. It shows how major international funding institutions such as the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), World Bank Treatment Acceleration Project , UNITAID, and donors to the Global Fund, decided to cap, reduce or withdraw their spending on HIV treatment over the past year and a half.
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World Bank Approves $3 Billion Loan for Controversial Coal Plant in South Africa April 12th, 2010
On April 8th 2010, the World Bank approved a controversial $ 3 billion loan for a coal-fired power station to ESKOM, the South Africa-based, state owned electricity utility, despite serious concerns from environmental organizations and the faith community. United States, Britain and Norway, Italy and the Netherlands abstained from voting for the coal loan due to unresolved environmental concerns and economic impacts on local communities.
More than 200 organizations across the world have endorsed a critique of the loan saying it will be a burden to poor people who will likely see their household bills increase, while international extractive corporations will continue to receive subsidized energy due to special pricing agreements with Eskom
Eskom is the world’s fourth-largest power company and Africa’s largest carbon emitter, and accounts for 40% of South Africa’s total emissions. The loan raised serious environmental concerns such as pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and raised questions about the World Bank’s commitment to renewable energy sources.
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World Bank Joins the IMF in Seeking Debt Reduction for Haiti January 21st, 2010
The World Bank announced today that it is taking steps to cancel Haitian debt owed to the institution. The institution announced a $100 million grant on January 13 in response to the earthquake. The Bank released this statement:
“Currently, Haiti’s debt to the World Bank, which is interest-free, is about $38 million—about 4% of Haiti’s total external debt. Due to the crisis caused by the earthquake, we are waiving any payments on this debt for the next five years and at the same time we are working to find a way forward to cancel the remaining debt.”
World Bank Projects for Sri Lanka Approved January 8th, 2010
The following World Bank projects for Sri Lanka have been approved:
Sri Lanka: Emergency Northern Recovery Project
$65 million to rapidly return internally displaced people (IDPs), largely ethnic Tamils, to their places of origin in the Northern Province and restore their social and economic lives. The project is expected to reach a total of about 100,000 IDPs. Read more.
Sri Lanka: Provincial Roads Project
$105 million to improve access to socio-economic centers in Eastern, Northern, and Uva Provinces through the sustainable management of improved road infrastructure. The project will rehabilitate provincial roads, develop and implement an effective maintenance strategy, and strengthen the capacity of the Provincial Council Road Development Departments to plan and manage budgets within a framework of fiscal constraint. Read more.
