IBRD revisited or renewed

Has the World Bank become an anachronism? Is it out dated, out of touch or out of synch with "world" norms?

Originally the Internatational Bank for Reconstruction and Development arose from the cinders of WWII and an intention to recapitalize Europe's industrialied capacity. For almost 40 years this work has all but been completed leaving an increasing concentration of capital in its reserves to be leveraged at the whims of its governors.

A few structural problems accompanied this legacy that do not necessarily indict the utility
of such an organization, but nevertheless place it in a critical if not precarious position to influence global welfare. The first involves the changing nature of the "world" as bankers perceive it. The birth of a "public " bank that is dedicated to collecting, managing and redistributing the green power of public assets through leveraged lending is a new concept.

Banks have predominantly been privately held for profit businesses over the ages. Apart from credit unions and lending societies forund in smaller communities, banks remain a core tool of private capital dedicated to self-preservation and increased control. The World Bank has been an attempt at serving the economic development of nations rather than individuals or corporations. Has it succeeded? The answer is yes and no. As the soverignty of nations receeds into the hands of super elites, and as corporations in republics are afforded similar if not superior legal rights to individuals, the consequence of the Bank's policies and actions have trickled down to serve public welfare less well. In fact an identity crisis seems to have emerged as Bank officials scramble to redefine their mission and focus to truly assist populations rather than the infrastructure that serves them.

The second involves increased communication and subsequent awareness of eachother thanks to the development and application of new technologies. The World Bank is indeed a lush place from which to conspire for the benefit of global economic prosperity and it has access to the latest and greatest of these tools. As public health is seen more clearly as a concept through which individual and collective wellbeing/welfare can be improved, the link to better productivity for all expressions of human endeavor will follow. We must continue to work dilligently to demonstrate to our colleagues within the Bank how to leverage their assets to enhance health on the planet. Apart from those political appointees at the top, they are among the best educated and potentially thoughtful global public servants. They have the means to concentrate and invest resources where they can make a huge contribution to stability among the least secure regions of the earth. Let us conspire to influence their policies and actions by clarifying values that that bring people together and demonstrate that healing and empowering human beings is more profitable than fueling the conflict making machinery of the status quo.