From: msdarkstarone@aol.com
Date: Sun Apr 21 2002 - 12:43:22 EDT
"World Bank President James Wolfensohn said the bank will select 10
countries for a pilot project in June to see what programs work best at
increasing school enrollment. Currently, 125 million children, two-thirds of
them girls, are not in school."
G7 Summit Offers Education Goals
By HARRY DUNPHY
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - World finance officials announced an education initiative
Sunday intended to help meet an ambitious goal of getting all children into
primary schools by 2015.
``Education is the best anti-poverty strategy,'' said Gordon Brown, Britain's
chancellor of the exchequer. ``Too often the world has set goals and failed
to achieve them. This time it must be different.''
World Bank President James Wolfensohn said the bank will select 10 countries
for a pilot project in June to see what programs work best at increasing
school enrollment. Currently, 125 million children, two-thirds of them girls,
are not in school.
The announcement came as finance officials spent their final day of
discussions focusing on how to deliver on promises to more aggressively
battle global poverty.
The bank's steering committee, made up of finance ministers whose countries
sit on the bank's executive board, held closed door talks on a range of
poverty issues.
Discussions included reviewing a U.S. call to increase the number of outright
grants supplied by the World Bank to the poorest countries instead of loans
that must be repaid.
Final agreement on the issue was not expected at the weekend meeting.
Europeans contend such a change would deplete World Bank resources.
The effort to alleviate global poverty has gained new intensity since the
Sept. 11 attacks. World leaders believe the growing gap between the world's
haves and have-nots has spurred resentment and served as a breeding ground
for terrorists.
While the meetings continued inside Sunday, about 300 shouting protesters
managed to make their way to a park across the street from the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund headquarters.
Hundreds of police at the scene had riot gear at the ready, including helmets
and long batons, but did not need to use them. There were no arrests.
The education project was announced at a news conference attended by
Wolfensohn and officials from Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and
Oxfam, the British-based development organization.
Brown said Britain would pledge money to support the program.
Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin said the education efforts as well as
all the goals to reduce poverty that were discussed at a recent U.N.
conference in Mexico would be important items at the annual economic summit
of the world's top industrial countries in Canada in late June.
After the countries are picked for the project, Wolfensohn said he would
report back to the World Bank and IMF in the fall.
The meeting of the bank's steering committee followed Saturday's session of
the International Monetary Fund's policy-making group and separate talks
bringing together ministers and central bank governors from the Group of
Seven major industrialized nations.
The G-7 officials agreed to intensify efforts to combat terrorist financing
and also adopted a plan to better deal with international debt crises.
Finance officials acknowledged that rising oil prices and Argentina's
economic woes threaten the fledgling global recovery. But they expressed
confidence that the world's economy was on the mend following a U.S.
recession and the Sept. 11 attacks.
``Economic recovery from the slowdown is under way,'' finance ministers and
central bank presidents from the seven wealthiest countries said in a joint
statement after the discussions among the United States, Japan, Germany,
France, Britain, Italy and Canada.
The IMF told Argentina, facing a deepening financial crisis, it had to make
greater efforts to overhaul its economy and rein in spending by its
provinces.
IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler told a news conference Saturday night
that he expected the IMF would not be ready to send a team to Argentina to
negotiate new loans until probably mid-May.
Published reports said Argentina is seeking $9 billion in new loans to
stabilize its finances. The country closed its banks on Friday to halt a
further drain on deposits.
On the Net:
International Monetary Fund: http://www.imf.org
World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org
04/21/02 10:56 EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news
report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed
without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active
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