Highlights of semi-annual meeting between UK Secretary of State for International Development and UK NGOs. Topics covered include CSO access to annual meetings, conditionality, anti-corruption, odious debt, clean energy, education in LICUS, bank internal governance, IFC safeguards
Debt
IFI governance
Background
Highlights of Tom Scholar meeting with UK NGOs
Highlights of quarterly meeting between UK executive director to the World Bank and IMF and UK NGOs. Topics covered include CSO access to annual meetings, IMF strategic review, conditionality, anti-corruption and education.
Finance
News
Mauritania, Malawi qualify for debt relief
Mauritania qualified for the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative in June, while Malawi completed the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative in August.
Social services
News
Cape Verde becomes IMF’s third PSI country
On 1 August, the IMF board approved Cape Verde's application for the Policy Support Instrument (PSI)
Conditionality
News
IMF to relaunch Haitian programme
After years of political and economic disputes, the IMF has finally reinitiated negotiations with Haiti
Accountability
News
Independence of IMF’s evaluation arm questioned
In an evaluation of the IMF Independent Evaluation Office's first five years of work, an external committee concluded that the IMF board may have undue influence over the body. Additionally the IEO set itself an ambitious work plan for the next year, as it plans to delve into the Fund's internal organisation and trade policy
Accountability
News
Evaluation echoes civil society critique of World Bank-IMF debt relief efforts
An evaluation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative by the Bank's Independent Evaluation Group released in April begs the question what next for debt relief efforts.
Accountability
News
Beware the big, bland wolf: The first year of Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank
What has most surprised World Bank watchers is how little Paul Wolfowitz has changed the institution he took over one year ago. On Africa, infrastructure, and debt relief, he has stayed the course - for better or worse - set by his predecessor James Wolfensohn.
Accountability
Background
Debt, conditionality and corruption: Civil society strategy session
Highlights of a 20 April civil society strategy session in Washington on debt, conditionality and corruption.
Conditionality
News
World Bank approves $37 billion in debt relief
World Bank member nations approved $37 billion in debt relief for 17 countries at the end of March.
Featured briefings
16 October 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Autumn 2024
16 October 2024
The lost call for international financial architecture reform in the G20
At the 80th anniversary of the World Bank and IMF, global civil society must maintain pressure on the Brazilian and South African G20 presidencies to ensure the forth Financing for Development Conference in 2025 results in urgently required international financial architecture reform.
16 October 2024
Sustainable development requires sustainable finance: why local currency financing is part of the solution
Multilateral development banks can reduce their dependence on hard currency lending and make local currency financing a central element of their developmental mandate.