World Bank President Jim Yong Kim’s Speech “Within Our Grasp: A World Free of Poverty”

Acting head of Oxfam’s Washington office Didier Jacobs said:

“It’s refreshing to see a world leader outline a bold, focused and measurable vision. Oxfam applauds refocusing the World Bank on eradicating extreme poverty while reducing inequality and curbing climate change.

“However, the shared prosperity goal lacks a target. It is not enough to increase the income of the bottom 40% in every country. Income of the poor should rise faster than average and the gap between the very rich and poor should be reduced.

“When it develops its strategy based on this vision, the World Bank should commit to specific policies and investment priorities: universal, free and public health and education services, fairer taxation to finance them sustainably, replacing fuel subsidies with programs building resilience of poor people in the face of climate change.”