Publication: Remarks by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at the International Development Association (IDA) Midterm Review
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2023-12-06
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2023-12-06
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These remarks were delivered by World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, at the International Development Association (IDA) Midterm Review on December 6, 2023. He extended his condolences to Tanzania and the communities impacted in the floods a few days ago. He assured that the World Bank will be by their side during the recovery and reconstruction. He spoke about the founding of International Development Association, charged with a simple yet noble mission to raise standards of living and build momentum for growth in developing countries. He questioned on how can we hope to make even adequate progress while 600 million people in Africa – 36 million of whom live here in Tanzania still don’t have access to reliable electricity He cited the example from town in Nigeria where IDA had helped fund a mini-grid system, and the electricity it generated allowed small farmers to do their work in half the time, it enabled shop keepers to accept digital payments, and gave diabetics regular access to climate-controlled insulin. He insisted that we must make good on the World Bank’s evolution roadmap and make IDA more approachable, accessible, and understandable. He highlighted that together we will reimagine what IDA could become and what we could achieve as a result. He concluded by saying that we will have the opportunity to commit ourselves to the vision that sparked the creation of IDA—a vision of a world where poverty is not a barrier to human potential, but a world where every individual has the opportunity to thrive.
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“Banga, Ajay. 2023. Remarks by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at the International Development Association (IDA) Midterm Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41356 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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