The World Bank is adapting its approach to poverty reduction in the light of experience. The Bank is doing more to get results, in particular by collaborating more with partners, and by strengthening the capacity of developing countries to monitor progress, evaluate results, and manage their own development processes.

But to get results on the scale necessary to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, more needs to be done by the international community to implement the bargain agreed at Monterrey, Doha, and Johannesburg. Developed countries need to increase access of poorer countries to their markets, and to deliver more—and better—aid.

We now know how to use development assistance more effectively, and yet the level of aid has never been lower. In the longer-term, as developing countries deepen their policy reforms and improve their capacity to absorb new aid, a doubling of current aid levels from $56 billion a year could be productively used to further accelerate progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.

Not only is more aid needed, but also better aid that is more predictable, coordinated, and aligned with country priorities.

The country examples provided in this booklet underscore the importance of aid in helping countries undertake key investments—in schools, mobile health units, microfinance and public institutions—to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. But the examples also underscore how more aid is needed, if Bolivia is to cut mortality by two-thirds by 2015, if Niger is to reach 100% primary school enrollment and if all Colombians are to have access to piped water.

Developing countries need to do their part as well, intensifying efforts to address corruption, improve service delivery, and build transparent institutions to support broad-based economic growth.

Many developing countries also need to reduce their own trade barriers. Increasing and improving aid to developing countries will help create more incentives for them to pursue these reforms more urgently.

Time is running out on the Millennium Development Goals. We must act now if the international community is to grasp the opportunity to help build a more balanced world for the generations to come.