GLOBAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE AND THE WORLD BANK

Just 2 years after taking office as president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz resigned amid allegations of favoritism, and was then succeeded by Robert Zoellick. With the Wolfowitz era behind it and heightened scrutiny in the aftermath, this article argued that the World Bank needed to better define its role and seize the initiative in health at both the global and country levels.

The international attention, levels of development assistance, and number of global health organizations, initiatives, and foundations focused on global health were, at the time, unprecedented. In this complex climate, the World Bank has been forced to rethink its role in global health. As a first step, the bank completed a strategic planning process culminating in a new strategy for Health, Nutrition, and Population, to sharpen the bank’s focus on results. The real question is whether the bank is able to turn its vision into reality on the ground. The answer depends in part on the bank’s ability to practice what it preaches and effectively govern its portfolio in the health sector, improving program quality and effectiveness. It also depends on governments of developing countries, and on whether countries continue to see the bank as an effective partner in health. Most importantly, however, the bank must make better use of its role in providing policy advice and technical assistance to aid countries not only in building health systems, but also in eliminating their need for bank assistance.

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