WASHINGTON, October 3, 2004 - Saying that eradication of poverty is central to global stability and peace, World Bank Group President James D. Wolfensohn today issued an urgent call to action to make the planet more equitable and safe, through the three pillars of poverty reduction, environmental stewardship, and education of the youth of the world.

Pointing to the recent violence in Afghanistan, Beslan, Darfur and Iraq, Wolfensohn noted that the world is now focused on short-term issues of immediate security, but he asked that the international community not lose sight of longer-term solutions: "It is absolutely right that, together, we fight terror. We must. The danger, however, is that in our preoccupation with immediate threats, we lose sight of the longer-term and equally urgent causes of our insecure world: poverty, frustration, and lack of hope."

"If we want stability on our planet, we must fight to end poverty," Wolfensohn said in his speech at the Annual Meeting of the Governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. "Eradication of poverty is central to stability and peace. It is still the challenge of our time."

"Making the planet equitable and safe is an issue that we all need to come together on - and we need global leadership and political will to do it," Wolfensohn said. To make the world more balanced and secure for future generations, Wolfensohn pointed to three urgent priorities that must be managed to determine the collective future of the globe:

- Protecting the planet--through better stewardship of our environment;
- Scaling up poverty reduction; and
- Educating our youth differently for the 21st century-and giving them hope.

To meet these challenges, Wolfensohn said, "We must raise our game as an international community."


Keep the Promise to Preserve our Planet

Wolfensohn stated that true and lasting development without preserving the planet is simply not possible, and said that economic growth should be promoted with a full awareness of the natural systems on which all life depends.

"Growth does not have to come at the expense of the natural environment. They work together," Wolfensohn stated.

To ensure development is sustainable, Wolfensohn called upon the world to harness new technologies and renewable energies:

"Environmental challenges affect all of us, but poor people are particularly vulnerable. We must give higher priority to renewable energy. New and clean technologies can allow the poor to achieve the benefits of development without having to face the same environmental costs the developed world has experienced," Wolfensohn said.


Eradicating Poverty for Stability and Peace

Wolfensohn noted that people in developing countries have the same priorities as those in developed countries: "They want to live safely and peacefully. Women want to build their lives free of violence against them both inside and outside their homes. They want education for their children. They want voice and respect. They want to retain their cultural integrity. They want hope." He added that, for the poor, the definition of security is more immediate, "For them, it is not about concrete barriers and military force. For them, it is the chance to escape poverty."

Wolfensohn made clear the challenge of poverty:

"Half the people in the world live on less than $2 a day. A fifth live on less than a $1 a day. Over the next 25 years, two billion more people will be added to the global population - 97 percent of them in developing countries, most of them born into poverty."

To address the urgent needs of the poor, Wolfensohn called upon the donor community to increase funding to the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's lending arm for the poorest countries.

"The countries eligible for IDA are home to 80 percent of the world's poorest people who live on $1 a day. IDA is a truly remarkable instrument, designed to be effective and accountable. I hope our shareholders will increase their contributions to the next replenishment. We must keep IDA strong."

Wolfensohn stated that the nexus between poverty and security has been widely accepted by the international community over the past sixty years:

"Since the time of the Bretton Woods Conference, through the Pearson Commission, the Brandt Commission, and the Brundtland Commission, through to statements of our leaders at the 2000 Millennium Assembly - and today - all confirm that the eradication of poverty is central to stability and peace."

" The message is clear - we can scale up poverty reduction and thus build a more secure world."

Education To Create A Better World

Noting that it was critical to pursue the Millennium Development Goal of getting all children into school by 2015, Wolfensohn called for the need to recognize that education is not just about getting kids into school. "Content and quality are key-and children need to stay in school."
Wolfensohn also made clear that education begins with early childhood development, "because we know that a child's future is largely determined in the first six years of life."

The World Bank President also issued a call for more understanding among children around the globe, as a long-term way to bring stability to the world: "Children in developed and developing countries also need to learn more about each other. I fear that today there is too much education for hate that will not be reversed in later years."


Meeting the Challenge

To drive home the point that these urgent needs are achievable, Wolfensohn pointed out the remarkable development achievements of the past decades:

"We know that development works. Over the last two decades alone, the proportion of people in poverty in the world fell by half - from 40 percent to 21 percent. Life expectancy in developing countries has increased by 20 years. Adult illiteracy has been halved to 22 percent.

He added, "Over the past decade, a quiet revolution has taken place in the effectiveness of development assistance: with countries taking ownership of their own programs; with aid being focused on good policies; and with increasing coordination among donors. Taken together, these changes can help us double or triple the impact of aid in the coming decade."

Wolfensohn also noted recent promises from developed countries on aid, trade and debt relief at meetings in Doha, Monterrey, and Johannesburg, and he welcomed further action from the international community:

"We are very supportive of the proposals on aid and debt reduction that have been put forward by the US, UK, France, Brazil, and others."

Much work remains, however, and Wolfensohn noted with caution that with 10 short years to go until 2015, the Millennium Development Goals remain at risk of slipping away.

"Thanks to China and India, we know that the overall objective of cutting poverty in half will likely be met. But we also already know that most of the other goals, for most countries, will not be met. Africa, in particular, will be left far behind."

Wolfensohn called attention to the borderless nature of the world in which we live, saying, "We are one world. Damage to the environment somewhere is damage everywhere. Poverty somewhere is poverty everywhere. Terror somewhere is terror everywhere. If there is a bombing in Bali, or Madrid, or Moscow, we all get scared. We all feel insecure."

In closing, Wolfensohn said that making the planet equitable and safe is an issue that we all need to come together on:

"It is our duty to ourselves. It is our duty to our children. It is the choice we must make for security and peace."