NAIROBI, 30 April. - (ANA) - Both Leis and Urpilainen expressed hope that World Bank President Ajay Banga gets his wish and this year’s replenishment of the International Development Association, or IDA, the bank’s fund for the lowest-income countries, is the largest ever. Banga is eyeing $30 billion in contributions, which he says the bank could leverage to lend or grant about $100 billion.

 

My colleague Adva Saldinger reflects on how critical IDA is for large swaths of the world — there are 1.9 billion people living in 75 IDA countries — in her special series of World Bank-themed podcasts.

 

“Without IDA Malawi will perish,” Justice Chombo, Malawi’s ambassador to the U.S., bluntly tells her. “So I cannot overemphasize the help, or let me say the transformation that IDA has been doing in Malawi.”

 

Africa has a huge stake in the replenishment — more than 70% of IDA funds went to the continent in the last fiscal year, reports Anthony Langat for Devex. Yesterday, African heads of state met in Nairobi for a summit seen as a key milestone on the road to the replenishment at the end of the year.

 

So what do they want from the IDA? A focus on job creation, energy and digital access, and building resilience. Also, for it to be less complex, easier to access, and more flexible.

 

The IDA 21 Coalition, which brings together partners to work toward a successful IDA21 replenishment, was also launched at the summit.

 

 

 

 

Not all generosity is built the same. The business of philanthropy seems pretty straightforward: It gives money away. But what if it’s also self-serving?

 

That question has prompted a “donor revolt” campaign signed by more than 200 philanthropists and seven national funding and policy organizations to stop what they view as abuses of donor-advised funds, or DAFs, in the United States.

 

DAFs are private accounts where individuals can deposit charitable contributions over time. That time bit is important. U.S. law allows DAF holders to receive an immediate tax break when they set up the account, but there are no deadlines for them to pay out the money — meaning the funds may never actually reach charities.

 

The campaign wants to encourage a quicker pace of charitable giving by DAF account holders, in part because it has global implications.

 

“I would argue that it’s slowing the flow [of philanthropic giving],” Chuck Collins, lead organizer for the campaign, tells Devex contributor Stéphanie Fillion. “There’s a warehousing of charity dollars.”   - (ANA) -

 

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