10 Things...

1. The World Bank kept a hopeful watch during Afghanistan's conflict years.

Although the Bank’s operations were suspended and its Kabul office closed after the Soviet invasion in 1979, the Bank continued to engage with the Afghan people. In partnership with other donors such as the United Nations, the Bank helped provide training for women to work as teachers and professionals and assisted refugees outside the country. It also monitored and studied the political, economic and humanitarian situation, producing what is known as a “Watching Brief” in preparation for future reconstruction work—work now underway since it resumed official operations in Afghanistan in 2002.

2. Giving opportunities to women and girls is one of our top priorities.

In 1990, we helped the government prepare a comprehensive plan to improve the status of women in Bangladesh. In addition, World Bank-financed projects are working to lower the disproportionately high rates of malnutrition and illness among women, reduce pregnancy-related deaths, increase female school enrollment and raise female literacy rates. Projects in areas as diverse as agriculture, fisheries, water management and micro-credit have special components designed to improve the lot of women.

3. We have joined hands with India in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

We are the largest financers of India’s National Aids Control Program (NACP) with a commitment of around US$275 million in interest-free credits. Our assistance has helped the government develop its ability to manage HIV/AIDS programs at the central and state level and has enabled important gains in improving blood safety, expanding surveillance to understand the scope of the problem, and scaling up activities aimed at prevention and treatment. With support from the World Bank and other donors, the government set up state AIDS bodies in 25 states and seven Union territories.

4. We are helping Nepal to develop a sound Banking system.

A powerful elite has been able to abuse Nepal’s financial system due to poor management of financial resources at Nepal’s two largest commercial banks. Likewise, Nepal’s Central Bank needed assistance in building greater autonomy and independence while strengthening its authority to regulate the entire banking system. The World Bank has provided resources and advice for the transformation of Rastriya Banijya Bank and Nepal Bank Limited into efficient and profitable commercial banks, and to strengthen the role of Nepal’s Central Bank.

5. We are joining with international partners to help Pakistan fight polio.

As part of our efforts to help eradicate polio globally, we approved a US$20 million loan to the Government of Pakistan for the purchase of the oral polio vaccine. The money is part of an innovative financing partnership between the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International, and the United Nations Foundation. These organizations have formed the Investment Partnership for Polio, a worldwide initiative to help eradicate polio by 2005. The loan to Pakistan will help its National Immunization Program which is working to gain polio-free status for Pakistan by 2005.

6. We are helping Sri Lanka become 'e-Lanka'.

We have financed a Distance Learning Center which offers videoconferencing, the internet and other media to help Sri Lankans interact with development partners and potential investors from around the world. The center has hosted over 250 events with attendees including business people, government officials, academics, journalists and members of civil society. An education project we are financing has helped establish information communications technology (ICT) centers in 80 schools. We are also helping Sri Lanka to create the conditions that will allow e-commerce and e-government to flourish as on other ‘intelligent islands’ such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

7. Educators throughout Afghanistan can now communicate via radios provided by the World Bank.

Fast access to information is playing a critical role in the rehabilitation and advancement of the country’s education system. The Bank has provided high frequency radio communication equipment to each of Afghanistan’s 32 provincial education offices to improve their school monitoring activities and strengthen communications with the Ministry of Education in Kabul. The Bank is also supporting the Ministry’s efforts to improve its management capabilities and design new education policies for the country.

8. Our doors have opened wider.

Transparency and the sharing of knowledge have moved up the Bank’s priority list in the past few years. The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information is designed to make more information available to the public. To help the media better understand our work, World Bank offices around the region organize regular tours and press conferences for journalists and also work with news organizations to hold round-table discussions on policy and development issues. In 2003, the Bank was a major supporter of the Commonwealth Journalists Association’s silver jubilee celebration in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

9. We are a Bank of Knowledge, too.

With operations in more than 180 member countries, we are uniquely positioned to share international best practice and provide world class analytical and research services to our clients. For example, in response to a request from the Government of Pakistan, we have conducted analytical work and sectoral research in a number of fields, including civil service reform, development policy, poverty, the oil and gas sector, mineral sector, financial accountability, and public expenditure management.

10. India is one of our ‘founding fathers’.

India was among the 17 original participants of the 1944 Bretton Woods conference which conceived the idea of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)—more commonly known today as the “World Bank”. In fact, it was the India delegation which first suggested the name IBRD. The Bank’s New Delhi office, established in 1957, is the oldest continuously functioning World Bank country office.

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