World Bank hailed as global aid transparency leader

The World Bank welcomed a new report released by UK-based Publish What You Fund that rates the bank as "best performer" in terms of aid transparency and ranks the institution No. 1 out of 58 donors in the index, it said in a press statement here on Thursday. "We're very pleased to receive this important validation of our openness and accountability agenda from Publish What You Fund," World Bank Managing Director Caroline Anstey said. The report, the 2011 pilot Aid Transparency Index follows the 2010 Aid Transparency Assessment produced by Publish What You Fund, a UK-based coalition of civil society organizations working on governance, aid effectiveness, and access to information. The 2010 Assessment had also ranked the World Bank as the highest-performing donor among 30 major donors. The new Index assesses the availability of specific information items at organizational, country, and activity level for 58 donor organizations, including bilateral and multilateral donors, International Financial Institutions, and private foundations.