Introduction
The 2015 historic international agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encourages all parties to establish and construct efficient local implementation systems. The policies require that members work with the World Bank to gather and evaluate data for measuring progress (Roa et al., 2019). This essay examines the role of the World Bank in bolstering SDG measures to combat poverty and promote development. The objective is to inform the formulation and execution of policy document metrics that outline the processes for reducing poverty following the SDGs. Addressing the needs of the poor and vulnerable via inclusive and accountable service delivery is one of the several implementation areas in which the World Bank Group is active. The World Bank’s primary duties supporting the SDGs include providing funding, technical assistance, policy guidance, and bolstering the private sector.
World Bank Providing Financing
The World Bank needs to collaborate across all sectors and regions to assist nations in achieving the SDGs. Currently, the Bank provides strategic guidance and assistance for realizing the SDGs, especially via development finance (Rashid 2019). It has been established that the trends in commitments to the SDGs for the 2030 Agenda and SDG execution have substantially influenced the quality of life in developing nations (Hickel 2019). However, reservations over the World Bank’s emergency funding for economies in decline, such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan (Khan et al., 2019). In response, the World Bank Group must establish more ambitious objectives to assist struggling countries in achieving stability by 2030. Some measures must concentrate on eradicating severe poverty and fostering shared prosperity. These objectives are best accomplished within a socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable paradigm.
The World Bank’s finance committees must recognize the effect of the global health epidemic on nations’ ability to achieve previous Sustainable Development Goals. Recent alterations reflect the need to reorganize finance, such as the International Development Association (IDA)18 replenishment for 2017 to 2020, which adopted a hybrid financing strategy. More policy actions can be explored in response to the intensifying global crises and the rising dangers of wars, climate change, and world hunger (Rashid 2019). The World Bank could examine the IDA’s huge accumulated equity to obtain cash on the financial markets. Such a policy initiative may raise available funds for countries, allowing for much higher assistance for the poorest nations. The policy initiatives should be consistent with the present IDA Private Sector Window, which promotes the establishment of marketplaces in low-income and fragile and conflict-affected nations.
World Bank Offering Technical
For the successful and coordinated implementation of the SDGs, the World Bank must give technical support to both governments and the private sector. The technical assistance policies include strategies for food security, renewable energy, equitable growth, and urban restructuring. The policies should address the mechanics of pollution control, institution creation, and entrepreneurship in the private sector in equal measure (Roa et al., 2019). The Bank Group should use innovation and technology to create sustainable economies and increase individuals’ and institutions’ ability to succeed in this constantly changing environment. Through initiatives such as the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), the World Bank is now helping women engage more completely in the national economy (Khan et al., 2019). The rules should be revised to increase women’s access to the capital, markets, technology, and networks required to launch and develop their firms.
The World Bank should advise using cutting-edge technology in decision-making and project management. The technical teams should intensify the management of high-quality data, offering policymakers and aid agencies significant assistance (Hickel 2019). These initiatives might facilitate household surveys in dozens of nations for the Data for Policy Initiative, which is required for policymakers to acquire and utilize data. Currently, the World Bank is trying to help institutions with the SDG Atlas, which provides policymakers and the private sector with a visual representation of crucial data on the objectives. Such endeavors should be supported by policies that encourage the investigation of Artificial Intelligence trends to enhance the quality of corporate settings that can support the SDGs.
Strengthening the Private Sector
The World Bank should further defend the private sector by supporting inclusive and sustainable economic development. The finance and effect evaluation should prioritize the private sector’s job creation and infrastructure investment. The policies should facilitate investments in human capital, such as early childhood development, job-related skills, and fair opportunities in education, health care, and training (Roa et al., 2019). Such action may have the greatest impact on a country’s potential to expand sustainably and grow as competitive internationally over the long run. Policies in the private sector should prioritize creating resilience to global shocks and dangers by intensifying efforts to address global concerns that threaten to derail progress. The proposed policy initiatives represent a commitment to serve all customers across the socioeconomic range, to take the lead on global problems such as environment and gender, and to create markets by mobilizing additional capital. Utilizing the World Bank Group as a capital mobilizer and boosting private sector investments should emphasize policy implementation.
World Bank Providing Policy Advice
Strengthening the private sector further necessitates implementing policy measures that facilitate the expansion of public and private sector resources. For the current cycle of IDA, the policy advice should include best practices for record replenishment with donor partners. As stipulated by the SDGs, policy formulation and implementation assistance may greatly increase the average annual lending capacity until 2030 (Rashid 2019). This assistance is essential to the World Bank’s aim to increase private sector financing while maintaining finite public resources for the poorest countries. The World Bank must collaborate with other multilateral institutions, civil society, and other global, national, and subnational players to address the most urgent global issues and attain the SDGs.
In addition, the Bank must continue to assist nations in establishing solid legal frameworks for combating money laundering and terrorist funding. Currently, the World Bank assists nations via the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) project in collaboration with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (Otterbein 2020). The World Bank should assist nations in enhancing their ability to investigate and manage financial fraud and recover the profits of corruption (Roa et al., 2019). Participants at the Global Forum on Asset Recovery, held by the Bank Group to assist target nations in recovering the profits of corruption from financial centers, approved a set of principles for the return of seized assets ethically and transparently. Since then, civil society groups have accepted these guidelines as the standard for recovering stolen assets. Enhanced policy support should use innovative technologies to enhance financial transparency.
Conclusion
The World Bank plays a significant role in advancing the SDGs, notably via the provision of funding, technical assistance, policy guidance, and private sector development. While formidable obstacles impede our capacity to attain the SDGs, there are policy measures that help lessen catastrophes. The World Bank must assist the SDGs in minimizing the effects of global conflict, climatic shocks, and fast technology advancement. The policy must prioritize and solve water and sanitation difficulties, health and pandemics, education and job training, and infrastructure challenges in developing nations. The World Bank can further help the SDGs by providing governments and the business sector with knowledge about climate change mitigation and humanitarian crisis response. Effective policy implementation requires analyzing and resolving a pressing global political issue.
References
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Otterbein, M. (2020). Physical activity & the sustainable development goals: a public health approach towards advancing the power of movement. Journal of Emerging Sports Studies, 3(1), 13-84.
Rashid, L. (2019). Entrepreneurship education and sustainable development goals: A literature review and a closer look at fragile states and technology-enabled approaches. Sustainability, 11(19), 5343-5411.
Roa, L., Jumbam, D. T., Makasa, E., & Meara, J. G. (2019). Global surgery and the sustainable development goals. Journal of British Surgery, 106(2), 44-52.