Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, I want to share an update on the World
Bank Group’s work on gender.
Addressing critical gender gaps, including female labor force participation, offers an opportunity to boost incomes and stimulate growth. Research from the World Bank has repeatedly made clear that accelerating gender equality can generate significant economic gains.
WASHINGTON, August 3, 2022 – The World Bank Group (WBG) today announced details of its global crisis response package to help developing countries navigate multiple, compounding crises that are hitting the poor and most vulnerable the hardest.
“Multiple crises – including rising inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, large macroeconomic imbalances, and the shortages of energy, fertilizer and food – are hammering developing countries” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “The World Bank Group is responding with speed, scale and impact with financing to respond to food insecurity, protect people, preserve jobs, strengthen resilience, and restore growth.”
June 21st, 11:30 AM EDT (local time) –> LINK
Join World Bank Group President David Malpass, and USAID Administrator Samantha Power at 11.30am, June 21st for a conversation about the impact of the current overlapping global crises on the poorest and most vulnerable.
How should the international community respond to challenges including the war in Ukraine, rising food insecurity and higher inflation?
The Way Forward is an occasional series of in-depth discussions on development challenges and innovative solutions, hosted by World Bank Group President, David Malpass.
On May 26th 2022, World Bank Group’s President, David Malpass, and Masood Ahmed, President of the Center for Global Development, will hold a conversation about the array of global shocks, their impact on the most vulnerable communities—and the response they urgently demand.
From conflict to COVID to climate change, overlapping crises have created unprecedented challenges for developing countries. Debt vulnerabilities, rising inflation, higher energy prices and food insecurity are threatening to reverse development gains. These growing challenges require decisive policy action and sustained international cooperation on multiple fronts to ensure economic conditions improve in all countries, especially the poorest. David Malpass and Masood Ahmed will exchange views on macroeconomic and political instability; and what is required for economic transformation.
The Way Forward is an occasional series of in-depth discussions on development challenges and innovative solutions, hosted by World Bank Group David Malpass.
May 26th, 10:00 AM EDT (local time)
The invasion in Ukraine will have far-reaching economic and social impacts – well beyond
the immediate impact it is already having on the lives and livelihoods of those in the country. The World Bank Group continues to coordinate with Ukraine and other development partners to assess these costs and develop a robust response to help the Ukrainian people during this difficult period.
The World Bank’s overall portfolio of projects in Ukraine supports improvements in basic public services, in areas such as water supply, sanitation, heating, power, energy efficiency, roads, social protection, education and healthcare, and private sector development. Since Ukraine joined the World Bank in 1992, the Bank’s commitments to the country have totaled more than $14 billion in about 90 projects and programs.
Financing will support essential social services; combined total of World Bank-mobilized support for Ukraine now stands at more than $925 million
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2022— The World Bank today announced nearly $200 million in additional and reprogrammed financing to bolster Ukraine’s social services for vulnerable people. This comes on top of the $723 million mobilized for Ukraine and its people last week, of which $350 million has already been disbursed to Ukraine. This financing is part of the $3 billion package of support that the World Bank Group previously announced it is preparing for Ukraine over the coming months.
The combined total of support mobilized by the World Bank for Ukraine now stands at more than $925 million. As part of the mobilization efforts, Austria has contributed €10 million ($11 million equivalent) to the multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) set up by the World Bank to facilitate channeling grant resources from donors to Ukraine. This raises the current MDTF total to $145 million.
“The ongoing war continues to have severe human costs and has created financing gaps that jeopardize the ability of vulnerable people in Ukraine to meet basic needs,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “This rapid support will help to bridge those gaps during a time of extreme disruption as we work on broader support efforts for Ukraine and the region.”
While the full impact remains uncertain, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is causing a growing number of civilian casualties, destroying livelihoods, and damaging critical civilian infrastructure, including homes, water and sanitation, schools, health facilities and highways.
PRESS RELEASE JUNE 21, 2021
Working with countries and partners across Africa to quickly expand equitable access to vaccines
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2021— The African Finance Ministers and the World Bank Group met today to fast track vaccine acquisition on the continent and avoid a third wave. In a boost to the African Union’s target to vaccinate 60% of the continent’s population by 2022, the World Bank and the AU announced that they are partnering to support the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) initiative with resources to allow countries to purchase and deploy vaccines for up to 400 million people across Africa. This extraordinary regional effort complements COVAX and comes at a time of rising COVID-19 cases in the region. World Bank financing is available to support the purchase and deployment of doses secured by AVATT.
The world is now a full year into the COVID-19 pandemic—both the health emergency and the global economic crisis it has generated. Its impacts have touched every person in every country, causing illness and death, disrupting livelihoods, and potentially pushing an estimated 150 million more people into extreme poverty around the globe by the end of 2021. And
A message from World Bank Group President Mr. Malpass
Friends, 
As the year draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of our work in 2020 and challenges ahead.
While some countries have begun a recovery from COVID-19, many continue to suffer lasting health and economic risks. The World Bank Group is working hard to address the unequal toll of the global pandemic. Since April, we have been providing support on an unprecedented scale, focusing first on the health emergency, as well as on the broader recovery goals and vaccination needs.
Netherlands for the World Bank 