WB to host Berlin fund-raiser for poorest countries

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WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (AFP): The World Bank body that aids the poorest countries is gathering donors in Berlin today, hoping to raise record funds as a result of a growing field of donors, possibly including China.
The International Development Association (IDA) replenishes its coffers, which are mainly funded by the governments of the richer member countries of the 185-nation World Bank, every three years.
The latest fund-raising campaign, the IDA14, was completed in February 2005 and raised 32.5 billion dollars.
"We are hopeful we are going to reach a level where we are able to surpass IDA14," a source close to the negotiations told the news agency.
Created in 1960, the IDA grants aid and interest-free loans to the world's 80 poorest countries, home to 2.5 billion people, half of the total population of the developing world.
About 1.5 billion people in the currently eligible countries subsist on incomes of two dollars a day or less. Thirty-nine of the countries are in Africa and about half of the money goes to the impoverished continent.
IDA funding aims to reduce poverty and encourage economic development in countries and is the single largest source of donor funds for basic social services, such as health care and education, in the poorest countries.
The two-day donors conference that opens today in Berlin, Germany, aims to raise financing for the three years between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2011.
According to the source with knowledge of IDA negotiations, the current campaign has some encouraging new factors.