The World Bank Group
Board member: Mrs Joy Phumaphi, Vice President, Human Development Network
The World Bank’s mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results. Founded in 1944, the World Bank Group consists of five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD); International Development Association (IDA) , International Finance Corporation (IFC) ; Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) ; and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The World Bank is owned by more than 180 member countries whose views and interests are represented by a Board of Governors and a Washington-based Board of Directors.
The World Bank is the world’s largest source of development assistance, providing nearly $30 billion in loans annually to its client countries. The Bank uses its financial resources, its highly trained staff, and its extensive knowledge base to individually help each developing country onto a path of stable, sustainable, and equitable growth. The main focus is on helping the poorest people and the poorest countries, but for all its clients the Bank emphasises the need for:
- Investing in people, particularly through basic health and education
- Protecting the environment
- Supporting and encouraging private business development
- Strengthening the ability of the governments to deliver quality services, efficiently and transparently
- Promoting reforms to create a stable macroeconomic environment, conducive to investment and long-term planning
- Focusing on social development, inclusion, governance, and institution-building as key elements of poverty reduction
The Bank is also helping countries to strengthen and sustain the fundamental conditions they need to attract and retain private investment.
The World Bank’s involvement with GAVI
The World Bank is a partner in the GAVI Alliance. The Bank is committed to increasing its contribution to immunisation through:- enhancing its policy dialogue with ministries of finance and ministries of health and other partners to encourage recognition of the value of immunisation and new vaccine development;
- expanding its loans and credits in support of immunisation;
- consulting and working with public and private sector partners to create new financing options to accelerate the development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine and other priority vaccines, such as against malaria or tuberculosis.