World Bank: Goals, Roles & Challenges

World Bank Aims

• Goal is to reduce poverty and support economic development globally
• Provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries
• Works to promote long-term economic growth

Role of the World Bank

• Provides financing for infrastructure development, such as the Nairobi Urban Transport Improvement Project in Kenya to improve road networks
• Supports education and health initiatives, such as India’s National Education Mission, to improve literacy rates
• Offers crisis recovery and disaster relief, as seen in Haiti where the World Bank provided funding after the 2010 earthquake

Criticisms and Challenges of the World Bank

• Borrowing countries face high debt burdens
• Zambia, for example, has struggled with debt sustainability due to extensive borrowing from the World Bank and other lenders
• Powerful countries can influence decision-making
• The United States has significant voting power, impacting project approvals
• There are environmental and social concerns arising from funded projects like the World Bank-funded dam project in Brazil displacing indigenous communities

IMF Aims

• Objectives include ensuring global financial stability
• Facilitating international trade and economic cooperation across countries
• Providing short-term financial assistance to countries experiencing crises

Role of The IMF

• The IMF monitors global economic trends and provides policy advice
• During its debt crisis, Greece was advised by the IMF to implement economic reforms
• Aids countries facing economic challenges by giving out loans
• In 2018, Argentina received a $57 billion bailout from the IMF to stabilize its economy
• The IMF aims to promote exchange rate stability
• In 2016, the IMF helped Egypt manage inflation after devaluing its currency

Criticisms and Challenges of the IMF

• Implementation of austerity measures can come with harsh loan conditions
• IMF-imposed austerity measures in Greece led to protests and economic hardship
• Favoritism toward powerful economies that receive large bailouts, while smaller economies get less favorable terms
• There are limitations to preventing financial crises
• Interventions by The IMF failed to avert deep recessions in Thailand and Indonesia during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

United Nations (UN) Aims

• Strives to maintain international peace and security
• Promoting human rights and social progress around the world
• Fostering international cooperation among nations

Role of the UN

• Peacekeeping missions, where peacekeepers work towards maintaining stability as seen in South Sudan
• Provides humanitarian aid and disaster relief, such as in Yemen where food and medical aid are provided during the ongoing crisis
• Led global health initiatives. For example WHO helped Nigeria eradicate polio

Criticisms and Challenges of the UN

• Bureaucracy and inefficiency slow the UN's response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti delayed aid distribution
• Veto power in the Security Council empowers political influence by powerful nations
• Security Council vetoes blocked action on humanitarian crises in Syria
• There are limitations to enforcement power. Resolutions failed to stop human rights violations against the Rohingya in Myanmar

World Trade Organization (WTO) Aims

• Promoting fair and free international trade practices
• Resolving trade disputes among nations
• Ensuring equal trade opportunities for all participating countries

Role of the WTO

• Negotiates trade agreements, like African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to boost intra-African trade
• The WTO played a role in resolving the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
• Aids developing countries in trade policies such as Bangladesh's preferential trade access as a Least Developed Country (LDC).

Criticisms and Challenges of the WTO

• Developed nations are favored more than less developed nations that struggle with agricultural exports
• WTO has a slow dispute resolution process
• The dispute between India and the U.S. over poultry trade took years to resolve
• There is difficulty in enforcing agreements, such as the U.S. steel tariffs

African Union (AU) Aims

• Works to promote unity and solidarity among African nations
• Aims to defend the sovereignty and independence of member states
• To speed up political and economic integration in Africa

Role of the AU

• Organizes peacekeeping and conflict resolution missions, such as in Somalia with AMISOM, to combat terrorism
• Works to promote economic development via trade integration such as using the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
• Offers humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
• AU provided aid during the Sudan conflict and refugee crisis

Criticisms and Challenges of the AU

• It depends on foreign aid and this affects autonomy
• External donors fund over 60% of the AU's budget
• Weak enforcement of policies and slow decision-making, with struggles to impose sanctions on leaders violating democratic principles shown in Zimbabwe
• The AU has difficulty in resolving conflicts, like the ongoing instability in Ethiopia despite mediation efforts in the Tigray crisis