World Bank ties strategy to poverty fighting goals

The World Bank, faced with a tight budget and greater competition for development funds, seeks to become more selective in its lending, focusing on fragile countries, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and other regions where it can have the greatest impact, according to a draft strategy paper obtained by Reuters. The draft report, presented to the bank’s executive board last week, is the first major strategic review under World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. It offers the first concrete details of how the lender plans to fulfill Kim’s two goals of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 and increasing the incomes of the poorest 40 percent of the population in each country.