IDA-17 (The Seventeenth Replenishment of the International Development Association ,IDA)

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The evolving development landscape is characterized by increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and other private flows, strong growth in low- (LIC) and middle-income (MIC) countries, and new patterns of trade, investment and knowledge exchange among developing countries. These trends, along with improved economic policies and favorable primary commodity prices, contributed to notable advancements by many IDA countries in poverty reduction and other MDGs in the past decade. A continuation of these trends would also point to a pathway beyond aid dependency for LICs through increased scope to leverage global finance and knowledge for development and a historic opportunity for IDA countries to shift their development trajectories towards ending extreme poverty within a generation. Against this backdrop, the new World Bank Group strategy sets out ambitious goals to reduce extreme poverty to 3 percent by 2030 and to promote shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. To deliver on this agenda, the WBG will align its activities and resources to these goals; support clients in delivering development “solutions”, by advancing knowledge of what works; and work as a “One WBG”, by leveraging the strengths of each agency (IBRD, IDA, IFC and MIGA). IDA will be the main instrument for pursuing the WBG goals in the world’s poorest countries – home to roughly one billion people living on less than US$1.25 per day (about 80 percent of the world’s poor). Deliberate action will be required to sustain economic growth and make it more inclusive across and within IDA countries as well as to address an evolving range of development challenges, including fragility, gender equality, climate change and disaster risks. In the face of complex challenges and constrained aid budgets, these ambitious goals also demand making the best use of scarce resources and enhancing collaboration with development partners. In this context, Participants noted that the IDA17 period, which spans the target date for the MDGs and the launch of the post-2015 agenda, presents a unique opportunity to harness the benefits of the changing global economy, address evolving risks to secure the gains that have been achieved and accelerate inclusive and sustainable development. They highlighted IDA’s critical role in supporting concerted and accelerated action and called for an ambitious IDA17 Replenishment to maximize development impact to meet the WBG goals in IDA countries