Africa

For too long, the World Bank has invested in grandiose projects that do little or nothing to help the poor. It’s time for its leaders to abandon the grand vision and embrace a down–to–earth approach. AS THE WORLD’S financial leaders gather in Washington this weekend for the annual meetings of the World Bank, help for Africa will be high on their agenda. Paul Wolfowitz, the bank’s president, has declared Africa and its poorest people to be his top priority. And the decision at the G–8 summit in July to make the bank the main administrator of funds committed to Africa adds weight to

To: Editor, Foreign Policy RE: Response to Mallaby’s "NGOs Fighting Poverty Hurting the Poor" From: Jim MacNeill [NOTE: Jim MacNeill was the Chairman of the World Bank’s Inspection Panel from March 1, 1999– December 31, 2001] Given Foreign Policy’s reputation, I was surprised to see Sebastian Mallaby’s "NGOs: Fighting Poverty, Hurting the Poor" in your October 2004 edition. I am not averse to reading an obviously one–sided polemic; if well done, it can be entertaining. However, the growing role of civil society in international affairs presents us with a novel set of fascinating i

Sebastian Mallaby c/o The Washington Post 1150 15th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20071 Dear Mr. Mallaby, I was quite surprised to see that my very brief phone conversation with you received such prominence in your recent article in Foreign Policy. My recollection of the call differs from yours. I remember that you were vague about identifying yourself and your professional affiliations, were aggressive in your line of questioning, and that I responded with caution. Given International Rivers’s history of helping journalists with stories on Bujagali1, you can rest assured that had you clearly