Washington DC- David Malpass, the World Bank Group (WBG) president, said, “The WBG plays an increasingly vital role in leading on the global challenges that people face in developing countries. Our mission is clear and important. The bank’s role is particularly important in poorer countries, where the global economic slowdown that began last year hit the people hardest.”
Commenting on Daily News Egypt’s question during the 2019 Spring Meetings, Malpass disclosed, “Egypt is doing well, as its inflation rates are falling and more jobs are now available, and the country has achieved some improvement in the empowerment of women. Additionally, Egypt has an important role in the African continent especially after Egypt’s presidency of the African Union.”
He announced, “I am looking forward greatly to work and cooperate with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to foster growth in Egypt and in the world.”
Moreover, Malpass said that global growth lost momentum throughout 2018, falling to 2.7% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of the year, down from 3.3% in Q1, based on the WB calculations.
Malpass added that the deceleration was seen in both advanced and developing economies, and it coincided with three other warning signs: waning structural reforms in major economies; financial stress in some large emerging markets; and elevated policy uncertainty globally.
On the current trends, per capita income growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, as a whole, is now projected to stay below 1% until at least 2021, which elevates the risk of a further concentration of extreme poverty on the continent. Growth in median countries will also be weak, he elaborated, adding that this fact is extremely troubling, because it jeopardises the WB’s primary goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.
“Globally, extreme poverty has dropped to 700 million at the last count, which is down from much higher levels in the 1990s and 2000s. But the number of people living in extreme poverty is on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa,” he highlighted. “By 2030, nearly 9 in 10 extremely poor people will be Africans, and half of the world’s poor will be living in fragile and conflict-affected settings.”
He explained, “Fortunately, the WBG is financially strong. With the capital package – which was agreed on a year ago at the Spring Meetings, and which I was proud to support – the organisation is becoming even more responsive, efficient, and effective.”
“This week we at the WBG have joined the IMF in welcoming our 189 shareholders to the Spring Meetings,” he finally declared.
