World Bank Sees Record Pledges for Poor Countries

The World Bank announced on Wednesday a record $49.3-billion commitment to its International Development Association, which finances projects in 79 developing countries, Bloomberg and The Washington Post report.

The three-year commitment, representing pledges from governments around the world as well as other sources, represents an 18-percent increase over the previous three-year total. The money will support health, education, food security, and building programs through grants and interest-free loans from July 2011 to June 2014.

Fifty-one governments, including some countries that previously received development aid, signed on as donors, up from 45 countries in the last round. The United States pledged $3.7-billion, making it the second-largest donor behind Britain.

The U.S. State Department will put a higher priority on global development as part of an internal overhaul unveiled Wednesday by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bloomberg writes.

The new effort, to be put in place in January, represents the first attempt to formalize “how diplomacy and development advance U.S. national security,” said Sam Worthington, president of InterAction, a network of American development and humanitarian organizations.