The 21st replenishment for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s low-income country lending arm, is due to conclude in a pledging meeting on 5-6 December in South Korea for its next three-year cycle, IDA21, starting in July 2025.
World Bank President Ajay Banga called for the largest-ever replenishment in December 2023, exceeding IDA20’s record $93 billion, while Kenyan President William Ruto called for a replenishment of “at least $120 billion” – which would require a significant increase in donor commitments. IDA’s resources are likely to come under pressure as the global debt crisis pushes many Global South states into debt distress, which would see more of the association’s highly concessional loans converted into costlier grants (see Observer Summer 2024).
The policy package for this replenishment will be finalised in a meeting in Washington DC, on 28-29 October, and will align with the Bank’s new simplified Corporate Scorecard (see Observer Autumn 2024), raising civil society concerns that some priorities could be left behind, including those from IDA20.
Grace Namugambe, of Kenya-based civil society organisation FEMNET, said that there is a lot at stake in this replenishment. “One in three IDA countries is poorer than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, with many now in debt distress,” she noted. “The IDA replenishment must prioritize the needs of these nations. We call for the Bank to not only grow in size, but also evolve in purpose, fostering inclusive, sustainable, and transformative development rooted in state sovereignty and social justice.”