Anna Bjerde End of Fiscal Year 2022 Message

videoType

dynamic-media

videoDmUrl

keyFrameImage

timestamp

00:00 Today marks the end of the fiscal year for the World Bank,

00:04 and what a year it's been.

00:06 The past 12 months mark an unprecedented time period for Europe and Central Asia,

00:11 the ECA region that I oversee.

00:14 Following a difficult 2020,

00:16 the year when COVID-19 hit the world,

00:19 2021 was a year of strong rebound from the devastating health,

00:23 social,

00:24 and economic impacts of the pandemic.

00:26 By the end of 2021,

00:28 the region reported an impressive average growth rate of 6.5%

00:33 following a 2% contraction in 2020.

00:36 Vaccination drives were in full swing

00:39 across the region.

00:40 Schools reopened and job numbers were picking up.

00:43 The outlook for 2022 followed the rest of the world,

00:46 continued growth,

00:48 although at a somewhat slower pace.

00:51 Today the region is facing many challenges

00:54 emanating from the devastating war in Ukraine

00:58 which is having profound impacts throughout the region,

01:02 indeed throughout the world.

01:05 High commodity prices,

01:06 high inflation,

01:07 dampened investments,

01:09 and most of all,

01:10 great uncertainty.

01:12 The World Bank has been strong and steady in its support to the region.

01:17 The fiscal year that just closed

01:20 marked record financial support to the countries

01:24 in the region at $8.5 billion in new lending.

01:29 The last time we recorded such large new commitments was in 2010

01:34 when we responded to the effects of the global financial crisis.

01:39 Our support this past fiscal year includes a

01:42 strong package for the poorest countries in the region

01:45 through our international development assistance.

01:49 This this assistance has focused on protecting

01:52 human capital and the most vulnerable,

01:55 getting girls and boys to gain back learning losses

01:58 and ensuring strong service delivery across all sectors.

02:02 All of our operations

02:04 have been designed to have positive development impact

02:07 on women through our so-called gender tag,

02:10 an ever important development topic in the region,

02:14 especially in light of the more adverse impact on women

02:17 from the COVID crisis.

02:20 Furthermore,

02:21 our support to the climate agenda in the region

02:24 has continued to be strong

02:27 through impactful mitigation

02:29 and adaptation projects,

02:32 including strong focus on efficiency,

02:34 innovation,

02:35 and participation by the private sector.

02:39 And finally we have been

02:41 at the front line in the support

02:43 to Ukraine

02:45 through large scale mobilization of resources.

02:48 This underscores the World Bank's strong commitment and focus

02:53 to fragility and conflict settings.

02:55 Looking ahead,

02:57 we will continue to provide quick response to shocks and emergencies

03:02 while also focusing on the region's important medium term agenda.

03:07 These priorities

03:09 include boosting human capital,

03:12 creating markets,

03:13 and enabling the private sector,

03:15 accelerating the green transition,

03:17 and building strong and resilient institutions

03:21 for macroeconomic stability

03:23 and good governance.

03:26 Stay tuned for our support

03:28 and activities throughout the next fiscal year by following us

03:33 on

03:34 worldbank.org/ECCA.

showAllTimestamps

no

transcript

Today marks the end of the fiscal year for the World Bank, and what a year it's been. The past 12 months mark an unprecedented time period for Europe and Central Asia, the ECA region that I oversee. Following a difficult 2020, the year when COVID-19 hit the world, 2021 was a year of strong rebound from the devastating health, social, and economic impacts of the pandemic. By the end of 2021, the region reported an impressive average growth rate of 6.5% following a 2% contraction in 2020. Vaccination drives were in full swing across the region. Schools reopened and job numbers were picking up. The outlook for 2022 followed the rest of the world, continued growth, although at a somewhat slower pace. Today the region is facing many challenges emanating from the devastating war in Ukraine which is having profound impacts throughout the region, indeed throughout the world. High commodity prices, high inflation, dampened investments, and most of all, great uncertainty. The World Bank has been strong and steady in its support to the region. The fiscal year that just closed marked record financial support to the countries in the region at $8.5 billion in new lending. The last time we recorded such large new commitments was in 2010 when we responded to the effects of the global financial crisis. Our support this past fiscal year includes a strong package for the poorest countries in the region through our international development assistance. This this assistance has focused on protecting human capital and the most vulnerable, getting girls and boys to gain back learning losses and ensuring strong service delivery across all sectors. All of our operations have been designed to have positive development impact on women through our so-called gender tag, an ever important development topic in the region, especially in light of the more adverse impact on women from the COVID crisis. Furthermore, our support to the climate agenda in the region has continued to be strong through impactful mitigation and adaptation projects, including strong focus on efficiency, innovation, and participation by the private sector. And finally we have been at the front line in the support to Ukraine through large scale mobilization of resources. This underscores the World Bank's strong commitment and focus to fragility and conflict settings. Looking ahead, we will continue to provide quick response to shocks and emergencies while also focusing on the region's important medium term agenda. These priorities include boosting human capital, creating markets, and enabling the private sector, accelerating the green transition, and building strong and resilient institutions for macroeconomic stability and good governance. Stay tuned for our support and activities throughout the next fiscal year by following us on worldbank.org/ECCA.

showAllTranscripts

no

duration

PT3M38S

scene7File

worldbank/Anna-Bjerde_FY22

scene7Domain

scene7FileAvs

worldbank/Anna-Bjerde_FY22-AVS

title

Anna3

description

Anna3

showTimestampAndTranscript

yes