Over the last year, our shareholders asked the World Bank Group to provide exceptional support in response to the compounding crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, in addition to its ongoing and extensive portfolio of work. This resulted in unprecedented levels of financing by the World Bank Group in fiscal 2022, including $70.8 billion by IBRD and IDA, $32.8 billion (including mobilization) by IFC, and $4.9 billion in guarantees by MIGA.

By financing health operations, vaccine procurement, and other initiatives, the World Bank Group has helped developing countries and their people and businesses continue to address the impacts of the pandemic on poverty, health care, human and economic development, and well-being. The World Bank Group has also rapidly addressed the far-reaching consequences of a new crisis, the war in Ukraine. The spillover effects are many — beyond the impacts related to refugees, food security, and energy, the conflict poses uncertain and potentially lasting consequences on trade channels, foreign investment, global confidence, and financial stress. Anchored by the World Bank Group’s twin goals of poverty reduction and shared prosperity, with a focus on fostering green, resilient, and inclusive development, the Board discussed and approved several important initiatives and programs to respond to these crises.

But the needs are many, and more can be done. The World Bank Group is working with donor countries to mobilize financial support through diverse channels, including the Fund for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response, as well as special guarantees and grant financing for Ukraine. The World Bank Group is also working with stakeholders on the ground to implement important programs, such as the World Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), IFC’s Global Health Platform, MIGA’s Fast-Track COVID-19 Response Program and the World Bank’s COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program, as well as efforts to address debt vulnerabilities, boost the resilience of food systems, and support energy access and transition. We continue to stress the need to address the key drivers of fragility and poverty — in Afghanistan, Haiti, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere — in order to build human capital, reduce inequality, promote jobs, and foster economic recovery.

Given the immense need for financing, the IDA20 replenishment process was advanced by a year, and a $93 billion replenishment package was agreed to in December 2021. This financing is the largest ever mobilized in IDA’s 61-year history and will help low-income countries respond to today’s multiple crises and build a greener, more resilient, and more inclusive future. Donor countries also agreed to a review of IDA voting rights, resulting in a significant adjustment to its voting rights framework. This will help ensure fairness among all donors while protecting and enhancing recipients’ voting power.

At the 2021 Annual Meetings and 2022 Spring Meetings, the Development Committee asked the World Bank to help countries address immediate food security and social protection needs; to help manufacture and deploy vaccines, invest in diagnostics and therapeutics, and strengthen health systems; to continue supporting debt sustainability and transparency; to build on the CCAP to protect natural capital and biodiversity; to promote digitalization; to increase private sector financing mobilization; and, with the IMF, to coordinate actions and orient country engagements toward a green, resilient, and inclusive economic recovery. It urged the World Bank to work toward these objectives while remaining focused on the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity as well as helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

We strongly support the important efforts undertaken this year by  World Bank Group senior leadership and staff to address racial injustice and workplace culture through recommendations from the staff task forces. We welcome these improvements as we transition to a hybrid work model. We were also pleased to travel as a group to client countries in fiscal 2022 — the first time since the pandemic started — and observe in person the impact of the World Bank Group’s engagement.

We sincerely appreciate the ongoing commitment of staff across the institutions, including our own teams, to the World Bank Group’s mission and their hard work during these exceptional and challenging times. We also extend a special thanks to the Emergency Management Team, who worked tirelessly to bring us back into our offices safely and securely after an extended period of home-based work.

Amid the many current crises, the World Bank Group stands ready to help countries and people across the globe as they work to address human and economic challenges and achieve progress on the path of development.