Looking back at Spring Meetings 2008

The 2009 World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings are about to get under way in a few days. Before they do, here's a quick look at some of the big stories from last year's Meetings.

Global Economy, Human Development Goals Top the Agenda
The 2008 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank opened amid rising concerns about the impact of the credit crunch on the global economy and uneven progress towards such human development goals as wiping out hunger and malnutrition.

Global Monitoring Report 2008
At the halfway mark to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline of 2015, World Bank economist Zia Qureshi said the world had not made the necessary progress, but success is still possible given certain conditions.

Ministers, Bank President, Tout Women’s Empowerment as Key Development Goal
World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick announced several measures the World Bank Group plans to take to boost women’s empowerment at a seminar on ways to bridge gender gaps.

Food Price Crisis Imperils 100 Million in Poor Countries
The surge in food prices could push 100 million people into deeper poverty, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said at the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.

Those are some of the stories from the 2008 Spring Meetings. Keep posted here for more information and stories from the 2009 Meetings

Above photo: World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick and the founding President of the Center for Global Development Nancy Birdsall at the 2008 Spring Meetings — © Simone D. McCourtie/World Bank.