The credibility of the World Bank is in tatters, as accusations of nepotism and religious intolerance of family planning have engulfed the institution. Read on for updates on the official and unofficial meetings that took place in Washington around the 2007 spring meetings.
Health
Land
News
Parliamentarians on World Bank
The seventh annual conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank was held in Cape Town in March.
Conditionality
News
IMF wants tax on mosquito nets in Zambia
The IMF provoked public ire in Zambia by asking the government to remove value added tax exemptions on a range of goods, including mosquito nets used to fight malaria.
Social services
Commentary
Huge gaps in the World Bank's Gender Action Plan
The World Bank's new Gender Action Plan (GAP), aptly named Gender equality as smart economics, is tightly framed in the Bank's economic policy framework.
Social services
Background
The World Bank and disability
The Bank’s formal commitment to disability work began in June 2002 with the founding of the disability and development team within the social protection unit of the human development vice-presidency. The team’s primary focus is on cooperating at the international level on including the disabled in development.
Social services
Background
The World Bank and youth
World Bank and its work on youth
Social services
Background
The World Bank and ageing
The who, what, where and how much of the World Bank's work with the aged and pension reform.
Social services
News
Malaria experts say World Bank published false statistics, approved deadly treatments
A group of public health experts has called for an independent investigation into the World Bank's publication of "false epidemiological statistics", approval of "obsolete treatments" for a deadly strain of malaria, and failure to uphold its pledges for funding malaria control.
Conditionality
News
Inflexibility on aid scale up haunts IMF fiscal conditions
The rigidity of Fund programmes is causing chafing at the collar in governments and civil society organisations in low-income countries, as the debate over the scaling up of aid rages.
Social services
News
Donors fail to ante up for Bank bird flu efforts
According to a June Bank report, a mere $286 million out of the originally pledged $1.9 billion has been committed for avian flu preparedness.
