At a Glance · The International Development Association (IDA) is the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. · Established in 1960, IDA is one of the world’s largest sources of aid, providing support for health and education, infrastructure and agriculture, and economic and institutional development to the poorest countries in the world. · Since its inception, IDA credits and grants have totaled $238 billion ($395 billion in real terms), averaging $15 billion a year in the last three years and directing the largest share, about 50 percent, to Africa. · Eligibility for IDA support depends on a country’s relative poverty and its creditworthiness to borrow from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and market sources. The relative poverty is defined as having Gross National Income (GNI) per capita below an established threshold that is updated annually (in fiscal year 2012: $1,175). · About one-fifth of IDA funding is provided as grants; the rest is in the form of interest-free or low interest, long-term credits. Regular IDA credits have maturities of 40 years, with a 10-year grace period before repayments of principal begin. · IDA allocates funds to borrowing countries in relation to their income levels, population size and record of implementing policies that promote economic growth and poverty reduction and of managing ongoing IDA projects.
· IDA was the first multilateral development bank (MDB) to put in place a rigorous results measurement system (since 2002). · IDA is a global leader in transparency, having ranked highest among 30 leading multilateral and bilateral agencies in a 2010 Aid Transparency Assessment by Publish What You Fund. IDA Borrowers · Eighty countries are currently eligible to receive IDA resources, 39 of which are in Africa. These countries are home to 2.5 billion people, 1.5 billion of whom survive on $2 a day or less. · IDA also supports some countries, including several small island economies, which are above the operational cutoff but have significant vulnerabilities and lack the creditworthiness needed to borrow or borrow sufficiently from IBRD or market sources. Some countries, such as Vietnam and Pakistan, are IDA-eligible based on per capita income levels, but are also creditworthy for some IBRD borrowing. They are referred to as “blend” countries because they receive funds from both IDA and IBRD. IDA Programs · In Fiscal Year 2011 (which ended June 2011), IDA commitments rose to a record level of $16.3 billion for health, education, agriculture programs, as well as to build transport, energy, water and Information Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure. · IDA carries out analytical studies that provide the base for tailored design of policies to reduce poverty. IDA advises governments on ways to broaden the base of economic growth and protect the poor from economic shocks. · IDA also coordinates donor assistance relief for poor countries that cannot manage their debt-service burdens. IDA has developed a system for allocating grants based on countries’ risk of debt distress, designed to help countries ensure debt sustainability. · Over the last 13 years, IDA has supported low-income countries' efforts to reduce external debt through the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). IDA has also continued to assist countries strengthen their capacities in debt analysis and debt management. IDA Funding · While the IBRD raises most of its funds on the financial markets, IDA is funded largely by contributions from the governments of its member countries, including former IDA recipients and middle-income countries, such as China, Egypt, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Turkey. · Additional funds come from World Bank Group transfers and from borrowers' repayments of earlier IDA credits including voluntary and contractual acceleration of credit repayments from eligible IDA graduates. IDA Replenishments · Replenishment is the process of periodic review of the adequacy of IDA resources and authorization of additional subscriptions. Subscriptions and contributions from donors provide the bulk of total resources available to IDA. · IDA funds are replenished every three years. During a replenishment year, donors, borrowing country representatives, and World Bank management meet several times to discuss IDA policies and financial needs. Record 16th Replenishment (IDA16) · IDA16 negotiations concluded in December 2010. A global coalition of 52 traditional and new donors, borrowing countries, and the World Bank Group pledged a nearly $50 billion for IDA. · IDA16 funds will support the poorest countries for the three-year period between July 2011 and June 2014. This will be IDA’s last full replenishment cycle before the 2015 target for meeting the Millennium Development Goals. · IDA16’s overarching theme is “Development Results”, with a focus on crisis response, fragile and conflict-affected countries, gender, and climate change. · A Crisis Response Window was established in IDA16 to strengthen IDA’s capacity to support countries affected by severe exogenous economic crises and natural disasters. The robust IDA16 will have the ability to help countries achieve results by 2015 on a cumulative basis: · 99-116 million more children immunized; · 15-18 million more people with access to a basic package of health, nutrition, or population service, in addition to about 1million more pregnant women receiving antenatal care; · 37-44,000 km of roads built or rehabilitated; · 36-42 million more people with have access to improved water sources; · 1-1.2 million teachers trained and/or recruited. Contact: Angela Gentile, (202) 473-3509, agentile@worldbank.org Updated August 2011 | 
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