Bretton Woods Committee: $400 Billion Push for Sustainable Development Goals

This article on the Bretton Woods web site outlines a big $400 Billion push to be made by the International Financial Insitutions (IFI's) over the next three years. The money is dedicated in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's). This seems like it may be a response to the recent announcements by China and the BRICS nations to boost infrastructure spending. Below are some quotes from this article which is from the World Bank web site originally. 
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The multilateral development banks (MDBs) and IMF today signaled plans to extend more than $400 billion in financing over the next three years and vowed to work more closely with private and public sector partners to help mobilize the resources needed to meet the historic challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The institutions—the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank Group (referred to as the MDBs), and the International Monetary Fund—announced their plans in the lead-up to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, July 13-16.

The SDGs are ambitious and demand equal ambition in using the “billions” of dollars in current flows of official development assistance (ODA) and all available resources to attract, leverage and mobilize “trillions” in investments of all kinds—public and private, national and global.

ODA, estimated at $135 billion a year, provides a fundamental source of financing, especially in the poorest and most fragile countries. But more is needed. Investment needs in infrastructure alone reach up to $1.5 trillion a year in emerging and developing countries. Meeting the staggering but achievable needs of the SDG agenda requires everyone to make the best use of each dollar from every source, and draw in and increase public and private investment. The MDBs—the engines of development finance—are looking to a range of options for scaling up.. . . . .

Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group

“We must cast away the stereotypes of aid and think about development differently. It’s about creating opportunity for all, giving people an equal chance to succeed in life, and preparing the world to deal with the challenges of climate change and the next pandemic. We need trillions, not billions, of dollars to accomplish these goals, and the money will come from many sources: developing countries, private sector investment, donors, and international financial institutions. By working together, we can help people build better lives with good education, quality health care, clean water, and proper sanitation. Those investments in people will help end extreme poverty in just 15 years.”

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Added note: The UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development Fund) comments in more detail about the goal to reduce poverty in this article. There is a September deadline coming up related to the SDGs. Here is a quote from the article:

"Shifting payments—whether salaries, pensions, social benefits, procurement, etc.—from cash to electronic is one such step. For example, in Mexico, the government is saving $1.3 billion annually—or 3.3% of its total expenditures on wages, pensions, and social transfers—by making payments electronically.

When done well, such shifts can also contribute to greater financial inclusion, especially if these electronic payments to individuals are made into basic accounts.  But even short of the full benefits of account ownership, mobile money and other digital financial services can bring intermediate benefits including storing value, making payments for insurance premiums and utility bills, sending and receiving money to and from relatives and others.  This is exactly what the UNCDF-housed Better than Cash Alliance is promoting in order to deliver results both for people and for governments—and to move us closer to realizing shared global goals and ensuring the resources to achieving them."