I. Introduction: The most important financial agencies of the United Nations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These are also called the Bretton Woods institutions as these agencies came into being in December 1945 at the Bretton Woods Conference held in New Hampshire, USA. IMF provides temporary funds to aid governments in correcting balance of payment deficits.
II. Functions:
1. The World Bank group is the largest multilateral source of funds are development projects for infrastructure development in road population environment, etc. for social development in the fields like health, population control and education. Some 300 billion dollars worth of aid had been given so far.
2. World Bank loans fall into two broad categories. Investment loans are long-term loans aimed to create the physical and social infrastructure necessary for poverty reduction and sustainable development. World Bank loans helped developing countries to construct basic education schools.
3. Other projects include poverty reduction, rural development, water and sanitation, natural resource management and health. Investment loans have accounted for 75 to 80 percent of all World Bank lending. Adjustment loans have become an important component of World Bank lending and are short-term loans to promote the market structures as well as political institutional reform.
4. During the last 20 years, adjustment loans have accounted for between 20 and 25 percent of all World Bank lending.
5. Other important sources of multilateral financing for development include regional banks, such the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank, have been major sources of development financing for hundred of projects within their respective regions.
III. Evaluation (or Criticism): However,the World Bank and the IMF are under severe criticism.They are dominated by rich countries.They are also not accountable to the United Nations. Their composition is not democratic. Voting in these institutions is not based on the principle of one nation, one vote as in the General Assembly.There is weighted voting, i.e. a member country has number of votes as per the amount of financial contribution or shares in these bodies.
