The World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual meetings kick off today, marking their 80th anniversary and providing an opportunity to evaluate how these institutions are evolving.
Global leaders will gather against a backdrop of considerable challenges in the global fight against poverty driven by rising debt, conflict, and climate shocks. While some of the world’s wealthiest countries are back on a growth path, poverty levels remain higher than before the pandemic in the world’s poorest economies, according to the World Bank’s Poverty, Prosperity and Planet Report. Some 8.5% of the global population lives in extreme poverty in 2024, which means about 692 million people worldwide survive on less than $2.15 a day.
Looming over the meetings — and perhaps shaping what is or isn’t accomplished — is the upcoming U.S. presidential election. While World Bank President Ajay Banga said at a press conference last Thursday that internal discussions about the future U.S. administration are not taking place, it’s widely expected that the election will be a frequent topic of conversation.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
