Session 1: Food and Energy Security
President Widodo and excellencies. The developing world faces hunger, poverty, unsustainable debt, and learning poverty above 70%.
Climate change makes all of these burdens worse. Farmers face droughts and floods. In poor countries, they face severe shortages of fertilizer and diesel. Underinvestment blocks access to electricity and clean water. Current global macro policies create a permanent drain on global capital, risking a long recession.
This is a crisis facing development itself.
The developing world needs much greater resources. The World Bank Group has achieved the largest increase in commitments in our history and greatly expanded trade finance. It’s not nearly enough, and we’re working to do more.
For Ukraine, with thanks to several of you, we have rapidly mobilized over $13 billion, with more in the pipeline.
For food insecurity, we are supporting 49 countries as part of our $30 billion food security package. It is imperative that the G20 countries, particularly those with large potential, increase the production and sustainability of fertilizer and the natural gas needed to make fertilizer; and reduce untargeted subsidies and trade barriers.
We’re all working to help build a greener, more sustainable economy through action and impact. Our climate finance has doubled. At COP27, I proposed a major new trust fund called SCALE to provide concessional funding and blended finance for actual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, particularly in middle income countries. This approach is the key missing piece for climate finance. We invite your input on mechanisms like SCALE to create GHG reductions.
Regarding the debt crisis, it is urgent to create a more effective debt reduction process for low and middle-income countries that are in debt distress. We encourage detailed, cooperative discussion during India’s G20 leadership.
Thank you.
Session 2: Health
Thank you, President Widodo. I want to thank the President of Suriname and Prime Minister of India for emphasizing the importance of healthy lifestyles.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive reversals in development—loss of lives and jobs; increased poverty; and school closures that resulted in years of losses in learning, child nutrition, and girls’ advancement.
The world is still facing multiple crises—yet we cannot neglect preparing for the next health crisis.
The World Bank is pleased to host the Pandemic Fund, and glad to support global health efforts together with the WHO, G20 partners, and other stakeholders. Thank you, President Widodo and many others for your health leadership.
The new trust fund will support low- and middle-income countries and regions to become better prepared for global health crises and incentivize countries to increase their own efforts. It will make dedicated investments in PPR, helping make the world safer. It creates a global public good, with benefits shared by all, across borders.
I thank the founding donors for their leadership and generous seed contributions. Over $1.4 billion by 24 donors have already been committed, and additional pledges are forthcoming. I urge all countries to contribute to the Fund – and, as President Biden said, the Pandemic Fund must grow the total health budget, not divert it from other priorities.
We celebrate today the clear focus of this new trust fund and global collaboration. Now, we must move quickly to address health weaknesses. Public health systems should be more agile, resilient, and adaptative. The $30 billion of World Bank investments in the sector support a One-Health approach that integrates human, animal, and environmental health, with better data and early warning systems, digital emergency preparedness and capacity building.
It is essential that we sustain and build on all these efforts, and we welcome the Pandemic Fund.
Thank you.
