At the 2018 IMF-World Bank Group (WBG) Spring Meetings, WBG shareholders endorsed an ambitious package of measures, including a $13 billion increase in paid-in capital, a series of internal reforms, and a set of policy measures that greatly strengthen the institution’s ability to scale up resources and deliver on its mission in areas of the world that need the most assistance. The package follows through on shareholders’ commitment to better assist all client countries in addressing global challenges while deploying scaled-up assistance to areas that most need financing. The package allows the institution to support drivers of long-term sustainable growth, including investments in human capital and resilience, across client groups. The package also makes a robust commitment to strengthen its operational model and effectiveness. Read more. |
A revolution is well under way. World Bank Group (WBG) projects are using Big Data to help governments reimagine solutions and improve service delivery and work toward achievement of the SDGs. In Haiti, for example, mobile phones are being used to connect urban residents to jobs, services, and economic opportunities. In the Philippines, governments are using GPS data from taxis to reduce accidents and improve emergency services.
Gender and the SDGs, SDGs & Her Competition Launch |
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WBG Senior Vice President Mahmoud Mohieldin and H.E. Dr. Sahar Nasr, Egypt’s Minister for Investment and International Cooperation, cohosted a ministerial event that highlighted the importance of women’s economic empowerment for reaching the SDGs. During the meeting, they formally launched the SDGs&Her competition, co-sponsored by the WBG, Wharton Business School’s Zicklin Center, UNWomen, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). SDGs&Her is an online competition that raises awareness of the SDGs within the women’s business community by recognizing the efforts of women entrepreneurs in achieving the SDGs. It collaborates with private sector partners on all SDGs, particularly SDG5, to share best practices and innovative ideas. The competition is open to women who own and/or lead a microenterprise, defined as an enterprise that employs fewer than 10 people, has annual sales of less than $100,000, and or have a loan eligibility of less than $10,000. Applicants complete a short online template describing their work and linking their initiative/product to one or more SDGs. Entries will be screened and then judged by an expert panel, which will select the winners based on the microenterprise’s impact on the SDGs, vision, purpose, and clarity. The top winners will be recognized at an event at the margins of the 2018 UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York in September 2018, and stories about the winning entrepreneur and many other notable entries will be shared through partners’ social media and websites. The deadline for applying is June 30, 2018. To enter, click here or visit https://worldbank.org/sdgs for details. |
WBG Senior Vice President Mahmoud Mohieldin hosted a session of the Global Council for the Sustainable Development Goals focusing on SDG 1 (“End Poverty in all its forms, everywhere”). Launched at the World Government Summit earlier this year to support the 2030 Agenda, the council includes more than a dozen leaders, from Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, the United Nations, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Nobel laureate Michael Spence also sits on the council. The group discussed its efforts to develop and implement a work program during the next two years in support of countries’ efforts to end poverty by 2030, sharing knowledge for action-oriented measures. |
WBG Senior Vice President Mahmoud Mohieldin and the UN Office of the High Representative for the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS (UN-OHRLLS), the Offices of the WBG Executive Directors representing the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the World Bank’s Boards of Directors, and the ONE Campaign, hosted a high-level ministerial meeting for governors of LDCs and their development partners on “Maximizing Finance for Development in LDCs: The Case for Sustainable Energy.” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed opened the event. Read more on this topic. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 1-3: Integration Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), New York
May 2: UN Joint Steering Committee to advance Humanitarian and Development Collaboration (JSCHD) Principals Margins of the CEB Spring Session, London
May 3-4: CEB 1st regular session for 2018, London
May 3-4: Expert Group Meeting on SDG 12, UN Headquarters, New York
May 7-11:13th Session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF 13), UN Headquarters, New York
May 8-9: 4th Formal consultation on the global compact on refugees, Geneva (UNHCR)
May 14-15:: Expert Group Meeting on SDG 15, UN Headquarters, New York
May 14-18: 21st Session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, Geneva (UNCTAD)
May 15-17: 2nd edition of the AI for Good Global Summit, Geneva (ITU)
May 17: Global Commission on the Future of Work, Geneva (ILO)
May 21-22: ECOSOC Substantive High Level Segment Development Cooperation Forum in New York
May 21-26: Seventy-first World Health Assembly, Geneva (WHO)
May 23: Women, Business and the Law - Launching of the Report in New York
May 29-30: OECD Forum 2018, Paris, Ile-De-France
May 30-31: 4th Data Gaps Initiative Meeting (DGI), Basel
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Office of the Senior VP for the 2030 Agenda,
UN Relations and Partnerships,
The World Bank Group
1818 H Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
USA
Email: SVPMM@worldbank.org
Website: https://www.worldbank.org/sdgs
Twitter: @wbg2030