Tomorrow, the House Rules Committee will consider the FY27 NSRP bill. Current House and Administration funding proposals fall short of U.S. commitments to IDA and the African Development Fund, while undermining MDB climate efforts. Read our analysis: bit.ly/3Qhcabb

On World Day Against Child Labor, we're highlighting BIC's findings from an IFC project in Senegal. Child protection must be built into project design, risk management, and supply chains, not treated as an afterthought. Read more: bit.ly/3Qo2bk2

As @IFC_org reviews its Sustainability Framework, it has an opportunity to strengthen disability inclusion. Updated standards should address the disproportionate barriers, risks, and harms faced by persons with disabilities Read more: bit.ly/4eBUEY9

We’re excited to share that Bank Information Center has launched a new website: bankinformationcenter.org/ This marks an important step in how we share our research, amplify our findings, and connect global policy discussions to the communities affected by development finance.

We’ve also launched a Substack, where we share timely analysis and updates directly with our community. We invite you to check it out and subscribe: bankinformationcenter.substa…

Starting now!

Kate Donald of OxFam International opened the session by emphasizing a reformed model of the E&S must improve outcomes and precent the dilution of standards.

Elana Berger of BIC stated that civil society spends too much time reviewing WBG documents. She notes project documents have improved in 20 years in ESIA, but those plans are not implemented well.

Elana emphasizes that ultimately the Bank is not implementing what it fully commits to do.

The public sector of the WBG is far better at implementation than IFC and the private sector. Elana mentions that for IFC the gap between policy and implementation is too large. The Bank must incentivize task teams when working on projects to see more improvements.

Elana calls for two major changes. First, IFC must learn from the public sector, though she notes that IFC is better regarding reprisals. There must also be a change of incentives to enable task teams to prioritize implementation.

The panel turns to Livi Gerbase of CICTAR presenting a report detailing a road through Itaituba, in Brazil and the Amazon. The city received IFC investment and was classified as a high-risk project. There are two Indigenous communities nearby.

In this case, the effects of the port complex on Itaituba has negatively impacted road usage, fishing practices, and the diverse biodiversity of the area.

Perhaps most importantly, there was no intervention with the Indigenous and traditional communities in the area. PS7 was completely ignored, and no Free, Prior, and Informed Consent was given.

Maninder Gill of the World Bank agrees there is a big difference between policy and implementation, but is improving. There are 825 specialists working to improve E&S safeguards.

He states that this merger will improve E&S systems in a way that will prioritize implementation. It should be viewed as the Bank’s commitment to improvement. A big piece of the new architecture is the Makers & Checkers. This separation is an important distinction.

This separation will allow projects to identify issues throughout the project lifecycle. He states that he hopes the Bank and civil society will work together proactively to identify issues.

Maninder notes that the Bank must determine how to better incentivize task teams.

Kate Donald reiterates several points raised. There is a culture around accountability that needs to improved at IFC and asks how that can happen. She also questions how the merger will impact staffing at the Bank.