Christmas Deluge Brings Disaster to Eastern Caribbean

Colleen James arrived in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from Canada two days before Christmas hoping to enjoy the holiday season with her family. Now she’s getting ready to bury her two-year-old daughter and 18-year-old sister.

In the Philippines, a Vortex of Climate Change and Debt

Since Typhoon Yolanda made landfall in the Philippines on Nov. 8, the country has sent holders of its debt close to one billion dollars, surpassing, in less than two months, the 800 million dollars the U.N. has asked of international donors to help rebuild the ravaged central region of the archipelago.

World Bank Raises 52b Dollars for Poorest Countries

The World Bank has raised some 52 billion dollars, a record amount, for its fund for development in the world’s poorest countries, though some are expressing concerns over the terms under which some of this money is being offered by donor governments.

The Sickest Places in the World

Parts of Indonesia, Argentina and Nigeria are among the top 10 most polluted places on the planet, according to a new report by U.S. and European environmental groups.

Key Global Financial Agencies Fall Short on Poverty Reduction

Key multilateral institutions charged with improving regulation of the international financial system are failing to democratise their governance and adequately consider the impact of their actions on the world's poor, says a new report by anti-poverty groups.

400 Million Children Mired in Extreme Poverty

Four hundred million children under 13 years of age are living in extreme poverty worldwide, according to a new study released by the World Bank here Thursday.

World Bank Mulls First Strategic Overhaul in Two Decades

World Bank President Jim Kim has formally put forward a major new proposal to refocus both the bank’s priorities and how it pursues those aims.

Risk Management Can Ease Poverty, World Bank Says

Successful risk management can be a powerful tool for development, the World Bank said Monday in its annual World Development Report (WDR).

Mideast and Africa Still Holdouts on Women’s Rights

Gender equality around the world has increased dramatically over the past half-century even though the vast majority of countries continue to restrict women’s economic development in at least one way, the World Bank reports this week.

Credit Rating Reform Overlooks Developing World

The concerns of developing countries about credit rating agencies (CRAs) risk going unheard as regulatory bodies around the world tackle questions raised after the 2008 financial crisis.

OP-ED: Financing of Disaster Risk Reduction Needs Urgent Reform

Over 20 years, disaster losses in developing nations have amounted to 862 billion dollars (a considerable under-estimate). During this period the international community has spent just 13.5 billion dollars on disaster risk reduction (DRR), equivalent to 40 cents of every 100 dollars of development aid – this has to change.

Public Media Want Piece of Advertising Pie

Today’s new world of digital communications presents public media outlets with a complex challenge: to conquer loyal and active audiences, with programming that is beholden neither to governments, their main funders, nor to market imperatives.

Grassroots Groups Wary of Haiti’s “Attractive” Mining Law

As the government works on preparing “an attractive law that will entice investors”, Haitian popular organisations are mobilising and forming networks to resist mining in their country.

Chinese Built Port Leaves Cameroonians Adrift

The Kribi Seaport on the coast of southern Cameroon is destined to become a mega harbour to serve all of Central Africa. But there is little chance that locals, particularly engineers and scientists, will benefit much from the 567 million dollar development. 

World Bank “Falling Behind” on Human Rights, Critics Warn

The World Bank is being urged to explicitly incorporate human rights into its development lending criteria, ahead of an important technical briefing on the subject to its board of directors on Tuesday.

Brazil Develops “Superfoods” to Fight Hidden Hunger

In less than 10 years, consumers throughout Brazil will have access to eight biofortified “superfoods” being developed by the country’s scientists. A pilot initiative is currently underway in 15 municipalities.

EU Bank ‘Funding Polluters’

The European Investment Bank, the largest institutional bank in the world, is facing criticism for its funding of fossil fuel projects and for weaker standards for lending to coal plants than currently proposed in both the U.S. and Canada.

World Bank Doctor Promises Not to Make Prescriptions

Long before he became president of the World Bank, South Korean physician Jim Yong Kim was on the dusty streets of the working-class Lima neighbourhood of Carabayllo, helping cure local residents of tuberculosis.

Green Economy Not Taking Off in Latin America

A year after endorsing the principles of the green economy at the Río +20 summit, Latin America is making little progress towards sustainable development models, according to experts.

A Latin America With Opportunity for All

Latin America has had a good decade. Over the last 10 years, economic growth averaged 4.2 percent, and 70 million people escaped poverty. Macroeconomic stability, open trade policies and pro-business investment climates have supported and will continue to support strong growth in the years to come.

World Bank to “Cease Providing” Funding for New Coal Projects

The World Bank is set to consider dramatically cutting down its funding for coal-related power projects, according to a draft strategy document leaked this week.