| __ |
Development
Is Everyone's Challenge
he global challenges of the past several years have been unprecedented,
and the World Bank has played a central role in dealing with many of these
situations. The Bank helped battle the debt crisis in Latin America in
the 1980s and the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, and both regions
continue to present significant development challenges. The Bank is deeply
involved in efforts to assist countries emerging from conflict situations,
as well as those struggling to deal with natural disasters. The Bank is
helping the poorest countries reduce their debts to manageable levels,
and is increasingly focusing its efforts on building efficient and accountable
public sector institutions.
But while global crises
have succeeded in focusing attention and resources on these problems, a
sobering fact remains: the number of people living in poverty is rising.
Yes, some progress has been made: life expectancy has risen, infant mortality
has dropped, and more girls are in school than ever before. But in many
of the world's poorest countries, progress on poverty reduction and sustainable
development is lagging.
Whether you look at it from
the social or the economic or the moral perspective, development is a challenge
we cannot afford to ignore. There are not two worlds, there is one world.
We breathe the same air. We share the same environment. We have the same
health problems. AIDS is not a problem that stops at borders. Crime does
not stop at borders. Drugs do not stop at borders. Terrorism, war, and
famine do not stop at borders. The fight against poverty is the fight for
peace, security, and growth for us all. |
