Lending for Human Development

Lending for Energy, Mining and Telecommunications

Lending for Public Sector Management

Responding to a Changing World

In July 1944, 44 countries came together to form the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Their immediate goal was to help war-torn economies rebuild after World War II. Since then, much has changed in the world—and in what is, today, the World Bank. Most countries of the world are now members of the Bank and support its efforts to achieve a world free of poverty.

As the World Has Changed…

…World Bank Assistance Has Evolved

As far too many have not benefited enough from economic progress, and the numbers of poor have steadily grown…

…the Bank has anchored its mission in poverty reduction, with expanded support from a concessional lending arm, the International Development Association (IDA), and a greater focus on people’s well-being, health, and education

As state-controlled, closed economies have generally failed, and market-based, open economies have mostly succeeded…

…Bank assistance has supported market-friendly policies and institution-building that are key to private investment, export-led growth, and poverty reduction

As donor budgets have tightened, and private capital flows have surged in importance…

…Bank assistance has been refocused toward countries, sectors, and poorer target populations that tend to benefit less from private flows

As structural reforms have proven a necessary but insufficient condition for poverty alleviation…

…the Bank has emphasized the need to make growth inclusive: the focus is on social protection, good governance, and the role of an effective state in addressing needs unmet by the private sector

As development has proven complex and not solely a function of financial resources…

…the Bank has expanded its loan product menu and increasingly complemented its lending with nonlending services to empower people with knowledge and capacity and to help build national consensus

As democratic principles have taken root and societies have become more open…

…the Bank has, in its work, increasingly emphasized consultation and participation to strengthen the people’s voice and to promote country ownership of development efforts

As financial and natural crises have dealt blows to the world’s poorest people…

…the Bank has responded on many fronts: providing finance, mobilizing and coordinating donor interventions, ensuring attention to poor people’s needs, and supporting efforts to assess future risks and prepare for them