Question: ‘Resilient Dynamism’ is the focus of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland in January. As we face unprecedented adaptive challenges and systemic risks, what are your hopes and fears for 2013?
The hopes and fears that matter most to us are those of the world’s poor.
Poor people want good jobs. They want to live in dignity, in peaceful, prosperous communities. For their children, they want health, education, opportunity, and that climate change will not dramatically alter the natural environment.
This morning, too many people woke up gripped by the fear that they won’t be able to provide their families with a decent meal in the course of the day.
Poor people have suffered the harshest impacts of the crises of recent years: the economic shocks, food price spikes and climatic assaults. And the poor have the most to lose, if we fail to build resilience to confront future crises more effectively.
My belief is that with comparatively modest investments and a laser focus on delivery, we can accelerate the end of absolute poverty. In less than a generation, we can free humanity from this scourge forever. At the World Bank Group, this is our passion and our duty, for which the world’s peoples will hold us accountable.
