One can divide the world fairly easily into areas of wealth and poverty. In recent decades – there has been a concerted attempt by wealthier nations to assist poorer nations in becoming more prosperous. Starting with the Bretton Woods institutions (the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) and extending to the subsequent creation of regional development banks and national development agencies, the developed world began to undertake this effort in the 1940s. Several years ago, Congress created the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission (IFIAC) to assess the impact of the International Monetary Fund (lMF), the World Bank, and other international financial institutions (IFIs) in achieving their stated goals of which one of the most important is helping poor nations increase economic growth. The final report of the Commission concluded that the IFls were not providing positive contributions toward development. It offered a number of fundamental recommendations to improve those institutions, most of which remains unadopted. No region of the world is in more dire need of development than sub-Saharan Africa. The 700 million people in this region face tremendous challenges, including the world’s highest incidence of HIV/AIDS, deep poverty, unemployment, political instability, and a host of
related problems. If the IFIs are to be measured, Sub-Saharan Africa should be a key factor in that judgment.
