WASHINGTON, July 27, 2004-The Government of Bangladesh continues to pursue broad reforms to accelerate growth and poverty reduction. To support these reform efforts, the World Bank today approved a US$200 million Development
Support Credit, the second in a series of such credits.

Bangladesh has achieved noticeable progress in improving life expectancy,lowering fertility, expanding immunization and decreasing child mortality,raising school enrolment, narrowing gender gap, empowering women, improving food security, reducing poverty and helping the vulnerable poor.

The GDP growth averaged more than 5 percent a year over the past five years. The fiscal deficit has been contained, monetary conditions tightened, and external reserves increased. Trade liberalization has been put back on track.
Despite faster economic growth and improvements in many social indicators than comparable low-income countries, Bangladesh still faces several daunting development challenges. The country's continued reform initiatives attempt to remove these obstacles to growth and poverty reduction.

The World Bank supported the reform program of the Government earlier through the first Development Support Credit (DSC-I), approved in June 2003. The present credit aims to help Bangladesh further enhance growth and poverty
reduction through supporting key reforms in banking, state enterprises, energy, trade liberalization, tax administration, public spending, and procurement.

"The reforms, introduced by the Government and backed by the Development Support Credit, are designed to improve the climate for private investment on which the creation of jobs, higher productivity, and rising incomes depend.
These are crucial for reducing poverty more rapidly. The reforms are also aimed at improving the delivery of services, especially to the poor. Better governance is an integral part of the reform program in each of its aspects,"
said Anthony Bottrill, Lead Economist of the World Bank and the Task Team Leader for this operation.

These reform initiatives build on the Government's Interim-Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP), which aims to accelerate pro-poor economic growth, advance the position of women, strengthen social protection, support local
participation, and reduce inequality. The Government is now holding extensive consultations to complete a full PRSP by December 2004.

In governance, the World Bank supports actions in a number of key areas. In addition to reforms in banking, state-owned enterprises, tax administration, and public procurement, the credit supports tracking public spending leakages; making the Public Accounts Committee functional and strengthening the independence of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Government has decided to introduce legislation to bring accounting and auditing standards in line with international practice. It has also outlined a strategy to reform the police services. The World Bank has encouraged the Government to appoint members of an independent Anti-Corruption Commission and make it operational as soon as possible.

The Development Support Credit also backs improvements in selected areas of public administration, such as personnel management and merit-based promotion for senior civil service positions. In the energy sector, it supports, among
other things, making the Energy Regulatory Commission functional and reducing the arrears of key power utilities as an initial step towards their financial restructuring.

The credit from the World Bank's International Development Association carries a 0.75 percent service charge and has 40 years to maturity with a 10-year grace period. It will be disbursed in one tranche.

For more information on World Bank activities in Bangladesh, please visit http://www.worldbank.org/bd

London, UK, Tuesday 20 July 2004 – UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has today announced a new pledge of £154 million over the next three years to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This new pledge effectively doubles the UK existing pledge for 2005-2007.

The new pledge forms part of the £1.5 billion scale-up over three years of the UK’s bilateral and international commitment to tackling AIDS that was announced last week by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. The full details of the UK government’s new AIDS strategy are also unveiled today.



“We strongly welcome this major boost for our efforts,” said Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund, “and we sincerely hope that it will encourage other donors to increase their commitments to the Global Fund.”

The UK has been a key donor to the Global Fund since making one of the very first pledges at its founding in 2001. The UK has also been a strong supporter of the Global Fund through advocacy at the highest political level. This will be of particular importance in 2005 when the UK will assume the presidency of the G8, during which the UK will launch – together with other countries – the new International Finance Facility (IFF). The proposed IFF would frontload donor commitments and leverage additional money from the international capital markets by issuing bonds, based on binding long-term donor commitments.

“The IFF is of critical importance for the financing of the Millennium Development Goals, including the worldwide fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and the work of the Global Fund,” said Richard Feachem. “We look forward to working closely with the UK government on these issues.”

At today’s events in London, including a working breakfast at No 10 Downing Street, Professor Feachem recognized and applauded the leadership roles of Prime Minister Blair, Secretary of State Hilary Benn, and Minister Gareth Thomas. He went on to commit the Global Fund to a close working relationship with the UK government in its efforts to control the great infectious diseases in the world’s poorest countries and in the launch of the IFF next year.

The new UK pledge comes in the wake of widespread calls last week at the XV International AIDS Conference at Bangkok for an urgent scale-up of donor commitment to the Global Fund. The Global Fund’s resource needs for 2005 are currently estimated at US$ 3.5 billion, based on new rounds of funding applications every nine months and ongoing renewals of existing program funding.

Globally, it is estimated that next year HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention alone will cost US$ 12 billion, rising to US$ 20 billion by 2007. The Global Fund is expected to fulfill a major portion of this need.

Currently, Global Fund commitments total US$ 3 billion over the first two-year phases of 307 grants in almost 130 countries. Early results of performance measurement on programs now moving to implementation stage include 16,000 people on antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection; the launching of 38 integrated voluntary counseling and testing centers for HIV in Rwanda; implementation of the first national communication campaign on HIV/AIDS in Morocco; distribution of artemisinin-based therapy for drug-resistant malaria in 28 Zambian clinics and training of private practitioners in the DOTS treatment strategy for tuberculosis in Philippines.

Expected outcomes of these programs over their full five-year lifetimes include more than 1.6 million people on antiretroviral treatment, a six-fold increase over current coverage; over 1 million orphans supported through medical services, education and community care; 3.5 million additional tuberculosis (TB) cases treated under the DOTS treatment strategy; 145 million artemisinin-based combination drug treatments for resistant malaria delivered.

Reflecting the breadth of Global Fund partnerships at country level, half of the money committed will be used by governments, while a quarter will be spent by NGOs, and the remaining quarter will be shared between faith-based organizations, private sector companies, academic institutions and communities living with the three diseases.

The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.

The Global Fund is an independent private foundation under Swiss law, governed by an international Board. Apart from a high standard of technical quality, the Global Fund attaches no conditions to any of its grants. It is not an implementing agency. It relies on local ownership and planning to ensure that new resources are directed to programs on the frontline of this global effort, reaching those most in need. Its performance-based approach to grant-making – where grants are only disbursed if progress has been measured and verified – is designed to ensure that funds are used efficiently and create lasting change for people and communities.




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Information on the work of the Global Fund is available at www.theglobalfund.org or by contacting Christoph Benn at +41 79 445 1517, christoph.benn@theglobalfund.org ; Jon Liden at +41 79 244 6006, jon.liden@theglobalfund.org;
or Global Fund Communications Officer Tim Clark at ++41 79 445 2771, tim.clark@theglobalfund.org. For regional information on the Global Fund, please contact Asia - Bobby John + 91 98 901 63119; Africa - Junaid Seedat + 27 82 435 1321; Francophone countries - Patrick Bertrand + 33 6 6004 0442; Europe - Jove Oliver + 41 79 656 3486; North America - Jim Palmer + 1 202 262 9823; Latin America - Jove Oliver + 41 79 656 3486. Information on the UK commitment to fighting AIDS can be found at http://www.dfid.gov.uk/.

Asia is at a tipping point in the AIDS epidemic. Without drastic action, there is strong evidence that in a few years the spread of the disease and its economic devastation will rival the toll in Africa, where it kills millions every year. That threat has made the choice of Bangkok for the 15th International AIDS Conference, which opened on Sunday, so apt.

Unlike Africa, most Asian countries still have a chance -- a quickly receding chance -- to contain AIDS before it spills into the general population. The 7.4 million people infected with AIDS in Asia (a half-million die each year) still come largely from high-risk groups like gay men, prostitutes and drug users. But the disease is starting to expand in China, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Preventing the spread of AIDS beyond definable groups is far easier and cheaper than trying to stop a generalized epidemic. According to a study released last week by the Joint United Nations Program on H.I.V./AIDS and the Asian Development Bank, unless prevention efforts increase, 10 million people in Asia will be infected in the next six years. AIDS will force 5.6 million more people into poverty each year in Cambodia, India, Thailand and Vietnam.

Unfortunately, Asian leaders have not fully focused on the looming catastrophe. They need to talk more openly about AIDS and invest in prevention and treatment. A vast majority of Asians never hear about AIDS prevention and have no access to condoms, H.I.V. testing or counseling. Thailand has been Asia's success story, but it is backsliding. Its complacent government has cut the budget for prevention by nearly two-thirds, and infection rates and risky behavior are rising.

Asia must also make antiretroviral drugs available to all who need them. Asian companies are producing cheap generic versions, but some are of dubious quality, and health systems have not kept pace. China has only 200 AIDS doctors, and nearly a million people are infected.

The world put $4.7 billion into fighting AIDS last year, a big increase, but nothing like what is needed, which is $12 billion for 2005 alone. Japan is giving the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria only $100 million this year, and the other Asian contributors -- China, Thailand, South Korea and Singapore -- are together giving a pathetic $3.7 million. Nor are Asian countries spending enough at home. These countries must spend far more to prevent an explosion in the number of AIDS cases.

You can find the editorial here http://www.massiveeffort.org/showstory.asp?id=2552

CGAP and the MIX periodically conduct research on the funding of microfinance through surveys of investors and microfinance institutions (MFIs). In research published earlier this year, CGAP found that over $1.2 billion in quasi-commercial debt, equity and guarantees has been allocated to microfinance by public and private investors. However, nearly 80% of this amount was allocated to only 2 regions of the world, and only about 30% of the funding was in local currency debt. Research such as this is designed to help funders better understand the needs of MFIs, and to help MFIs understand patterns of microfinance funding.

We invite the Finance Manger or General Manager of your organization to complete a short, 20-question survey designed to help us understand how your organization is funding its operations, what types of capital you require, and what challenges you face in securing funding. CGAP and the MIX will use the results of the survey to help donors and investors improve the products they use to fund MFIs and better target certain regions and MFIs for funding. Here is a link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=41364029E3453 ENGLISH VERSION. French and Spanish versions will be available soon.

What are the benefits of this survey?

FOR MFIs THAT REQUIRE FUNDING: If you approve, CGAP and the MIX will use your survey response to create a "funding requirements profile." This document will be circulated to 55 microfinance investors and 30 donors who may have interest in evaluating you for funding.

FOR MFIs THAT DON'T NEED FUNDING: By responding to this survey, you will help CGAP produce research that can improve the products and terms under which your existing funders provide capital.

FOR DONORS, INVESTORS, AND OTHER FUNDERS: CGAP will use the survey results to analyze market opportunities and trends for microfinance funders, including different MFI market segments and products. In addition, you will receive "funding requirements profiles" from some institutions that may represent strong funding opportunities.

Please visit http: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=41364029E3453 to take the survey online. Each MFI should complete the survey only once. The information you provide will remain fully confidential, unless you answer "Yes" to question 2 on page 3, indicating that you would like us to create a "funding requirements profile" to be distributed to funders.

We encourage you to have your General Manager or Director of Finance to complete this survey. If you do not have reliable Internet access, e-mail us at microfinance@prodigy.net and we will send you an electronic or paper copy to complete. Once the survey results have been tabulated, we will send you a link to view the results online.

Thank you for your contribution.

Gautam Ivatury, CGAP (givatury@worldbank.org)
Isabelle Barres, the MIX (IBarres@themix.org)
Julie Abrams, for CGAP (microfinance@prodigy.net)

P.S. If you are a network receiving this e-mail, please forward this e-mail to all of your members.