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Five Things You Never Knew about the World Bank

Ravi Kumar's picture

The World Bank is the largest international funder of education.

The World Bank Group is the largest international funder of education.

Education is one of the most important tools young people need to get good jobs. That’s why the Bank works with national governments, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations, and other partners in developing countries to ensure everyone has access to education.

The World Bank is a leader in the fight against corruption worldwide.

The World Bank Group is a leader in the fight against corruption worldwide.

Corruption is like cancer for a society. It especially affects young people who are looking for education, jobs, and better opportunities to grow. Since 1996, the Bank has launched hundreds of anti-corruption programs in more than 100 countries. For example, last year 250 young people met at the third Global Youth Anti-Corruption Forum to talk about how their use of social media can play a significant role in the global fight against corruption.

The World Bank is one of the largest international funders of biodiversity projects.

The World Bank Group is one of the largest international funders of biodiversity projects.

The Bank has a conservation portfolio of 245 projects worth more than a billion dollars in the past 10 years. These projects have been undertaken in 74 countries with the majority in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The World Bank is the largest single source of development knowledge.

The World Bank Group is the largest single source of development knowledge.

The Bank does research about the challenges that its 188 member countries face. And it makes that research public to encourage innovation to tackle those challenges. Anyone with access to the Internet can use the Bank’s knowledge to address problems of poor people. I encourage you to explore the World Bank Open Knowledge Repository.

The World Bank engages with more than 1 million people.

The World Bank Group engages with more than 1 million people.

 

Increasingly, the Bank has realized that it’s imperative to engage and respond to people. In addition to conferences, seminars, and meetings, we use social media to engage, inform, and respond to people. Our social media audience is from more than 100 countries. We engage with more than a million people via social media; 80% of them are from developing countries, and their typical age is 24. Last year, we asked our global audience “What will it take to end poverty?” Thousands of youth like you responded, saying “it takes” working together, ending corruption, promoting education, and many other ideas. Check out this video to find out more about your responses and follow the Twitter hashtag #endpoverty.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous on

Nigeria as a case study, we the populace only see with our eyes the projects that supposed to be sponsored by Government being assisted by world bank and we wonder where is our oil, cassava, cocoa and all other mineral resources we have handed over to our government in order to make our world beautiful.I want to beg World Bank to look towards private sectors, SMEs partnership in order to move Africa continent forward.Thank you!

Submitted by Anonymous on

This needs a copy edit. There's a typo in the first sentence. Also, your assertion that you "engage" is false. You broadcast, and rarely respond.

Submitted by Amdie Edilu on

More is expected to do with due regard to the level of poverty worldwide through strengthening capacity building and good governance.

Submitted by ELIFADH SINGO on

World bank must also fight war against develop country, not only poverty, education and infrastructure.

Submitted by Zuhra Khan Zazai on

Well I must thank the world bank in helping my country Afghanistan in getting education . As I was going through the page the first thing that I came across was an Afghani girl having a pencil in her hand. My country Afghanistan really needs to be educated and I really am grateful to you for all your doings
I am very much interested to be part of the cause in getting Afghan nation educated and specially the girls.

Submitted by Fawad Ali on

Dear Zuhra Khan,
Your great efforts will bring change in field of education.

Education is need of the day.

Best wishes for you from Islamabad. May the Great Allah fulfil all of your wishes and May Allah give you the success in getting Afghan nation educated and specially the girls.
Best of Luck

Submitted by Yogesh Thorat on

Thanks for the world bank to educate the people,to fight against corruption, to protect environment, to be leader in developmental knowledge and to reduce hunger

Submitted by Per Kurowski on

“The World Bank is the largest single source of development knowledge”

Absolutely, but that does not mean it will be right all the time. For instance it has not protested the risk-weighted capital requirements for banks which go against any developing principle.

Allowing banks to earn much higher risk-adjusted returns on equity on assets perceived as “safe”, than on assets perceived as “risky”… introduces a distortion that makes it impossible for banks to fulfill their societal duty of allocating bank credit efficiently in the real economy.

Submitted by Madi on

Honestly,here in Kazakhstan, the world bank office is so invisible and it has done not so much work.

Submitted by Osita Usenson on

All laudable and appreciated but until they start impacting on lives, especially of the people in developing countries, then all the strides made make very little difference.

Submitted by Kamlesh Kumar on

It is appreciable and useful as well. World Bank needs to advertise more about what it is doing and what are its intentions. Many people in India are still apprehensive of WB's role and intentions.