Washington, DC — One of the great ironies of the Development Committee meetings that took place at the just-ended spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, was that though Iraq appeared nowhere on the official schedule, it was in many ways at the top of the agenda.
Uncertainty about money placed it there. With so much money needed for Iraq, is there any reason to believe that efforts such as the drive to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals will get the money they need?
Few think so. The Development Committee is the lead group in advising the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on critical development issues. And this year, in what has become a familiar litany for sub-Saharan Africa: development indicators portray a worsening situation. The number of people living on less that US$1 a day now numbers more than 400 million - up from 241 million in 1990; it is the other war, the long running battle against poverty in which there are few victories to report.
All the trends show most sub-Saharan African nations moving backwards when it comes to achieving the Millennium Development Goals under which, by 2015, poverty and hunger should have been halved, all primary school age children should have gained a place at school, child mortality significantly reduced, the spread of HIV/Aids and other diseases halted and a sustainable environment created.
Stalemated discussion within the World Trade Organization about lifting agricultural subsides (roughly US$350bn protecting European and American agriculture) and the tariff barriers that block African products add to the bleak picture.
The Bank's chief economist, Nick Stern, blasted G7 nations for backing away from their commitments: "The barriers to trade that the rich countries put in the face of poor countries are absolutely outrageous," Mr Stern said. "They're telling poor countries to open up their markets to get the benefits of trade and growth but at the same time closing their markets in precisely those areas where developing countries have a comparative advantage."
The Iraq situation makes access to money even more uncertain, although Bank officials don't like to say so. "It is a matter of will," economist Stern responded, when asked about the chance that the extra US$50bn in assistance needed annually to achieve Millennium Development Goals will be found.
"I don't want to turn this into an issue of either we get the $50bn or all is hopeless," Stern continued. "If we get strong movements in policies; if we get a build-up in aid, then, I think it is quite possible, in large part, to reach the Millennium Development Goals."
Maybe there will be some strong persuasive voices within the G7 nations. But the Africans at this year's meetings were doubtful about their prospects. "Clearly the attention is now on Iraq," said Lesotho Minister of Finance, Timothy T. Thahane. "Yesterday it was Kosovo and Eastern Europe, and we still have to struggle for resources."
Thahane and other ministers recognize that substantial money will be going to Iraq. "My appeal to the main donors is that while they should attend to the reconstruction and renovation of Afghanistan and Iraq, Africa is also in dire need for resources to get rid of poverty, to be able to get safe water, to get education and so on," said Ugandan Minister of Finance, Gerald M. Ssendaula, speaking to reporters, Friday.
Worry that development issues will be forgotten are misplaced, insisted World Bank president James Wolfensohn, Sunday. "Although Iraq gets all the questions, the agenda was on the development process," he said.
The International Development Association (IDA) which helps the world's poorest nations with interest-free loans will be getting another US$100m from the United States, he announced, "based on the judgement of the U.S. authorities that we had been effective in what we had been doing." Another US$200m may be forthcoming if developing countries show progress in education, health and private sector development, he added.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Although Wolfensohn has so far ducked answering the question of how much money the Bank is prepared to put into reconstructing Iraq, the Bank will help with that nation's rebuilding, he says. At the same time, in what appears to be a willingness to find a quick solution to what has been an intractable issue when it comes to African nations, the U.S. and G7 nations seem willing to negotiate to relieve Iraq of its debt - estimated at between US$60bn and US$100bn.
So, what do African ministers take away from this year's meetings? Not much more than they took from last Fall's meeting: some international attention and better quality data on the plight of their nations. The context may change - whether Iraq or some other current crisis - but the problems remain and get worse. "Let me tell you that every year we are facing not only the same problems, but the same problems in a different way; we need sustainability, we need permanent effort to solve our problems." said Charles Konan Banny, Governor of the Central Bank of the States of West Africa (BCEAO).
