09 April 2008
The weekend of 12-13 April saw the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Washington D.C. meetings were an opportunity for the Bank and the IMF to discuss progress in their work to alleviate poverty. Read the UK's objectives for the 2008 Spring Meetings.
This year is a decisive point in the fight against global poverty - halfway to 2015, the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As the World Bank and IMF's Global Monitoring Report (published on 8 April) makes clear, more action is needed now if the MDGs are to be met on time.
While good progress is being made on reducing extreme poverty, the targets on cutting child and maternal mortality are less likely to be realised by 2015. In addition, the outlook is poor for the goals on education, sanitation and nutrition. At the current rate, Sub-Saharan Africa could fail to meet all of the goals.
As well as addressing the status of the the MDGs at the halfway point, a focal point of the weekend's meetings was the urgent need to respond to rising food prices, which threaten to undermine progress in the fight against world poverty.
UK announces aid package to tackle rising global food prices 22 April 2008
Read Secretary of State Douglas Alexander's statement on food and energy prices 13 April 2008
Douglas Alexander and Alistair Darling's statement to the World Bank/IMF's Development Committee (opens in a new window)
Read about the outcomes of the Development Committee (opens in a new window)
The meetings also addressed issues including strengthening agriculture in developing countries, adapting to climate change, and promoting economic growth.
Last July, in recognition of the need for a renewed global effort to achieve the MDGs, Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched the Call to Action. This aims to accelerate action towards 2015 by building momentum across governments, businesses, faith groups, non-governmental organisations, professional organisations and cities.
2008 has been declared the Year of Action on the MDGs - in the words of UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, "the year of the bottom billion". Throughout the year, a number of events and meetings will take place at which Call to Action supporters will seek to push for an action plan on the MDGs. A high-level UN meeting on September 25 will bring together heads of governments and other stakeholders to commit to getting the world back on track.
As one of the world's most effective development organisations, the World Bank has a critical role to play in delivering the MDGs. DFID is a steadfast supporter of the Bank, and is one of its main partners. From improving health in Malawi and education in China, to providing budget support to Mozambique, the Bank and DFID co-finance a range of programmes to reduce poverty.
In recent years, joint work and policy discussions between DFID and the Bank have dealt with pressing challenges such as water and sanitation, and climate change. Adapting to new challenges is vital if the MDGs are to be met on time.
DFID's work with the IMF focuses on building stronger economies in some of the world's poorest countries. Although these countries have made progress over recent years, their economies must grow further, and continue to grow into the future, to achieve the MDGs.
Lately, DFID has worked to encourage the IMF to align its support with the national poverty reduction strategies of the countries it helps. Efforts are also underway to improve the IMF's support to countries that have emerged from conflict, and to strengthen its effectiveness in helping low-income countries to cope with economic shocks.
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