African states formed a unified position on World Bank reforms that centers their needs on fighting poverty and hunger and pushes back against the more narrow demands of wealthy Western shareholders that focus on climate change and pandemics.
A document, agreed upon by consensus and representing the common position of African states, argues that food security, water, and affordable energy are “global public goods,” and lays out concerns about financing the digital transformation. It was issued ahead of the 20 leading rich and developing nations, or G20, finance ministers’ meeting in India coming up next week.
The move is the latest by African governments to gain more control over the reform process, which has been dominated by the likes of United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. She has been laboring this year to create buy-in among lower-income nations for the efforts to use the Washington-based lender to tackle environmental concerns and global health.
About the author
Shabtai Gold
Shabtai Gold is a Senior Reporter based in Washington. He covers multilateral development banks, with a focus on the World Bank, along with trends in development finance. Prior to Devex, he worked for the German Press Agency, dpa, for more than a decade, with stints in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, before relocating to Washington to cover politics and business.
