Press Release: From Billions to Trillions--Transforming Development Finance Post-2015 Financing for Development: Multilateral Development Finance

IMF News, April 16, 2015

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Published: April 16, 2015

Context and central message

2015 marks a critical year for development as the international community works towards agreeing on a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to meet the dual challenges of overcoming poverty and protecting the planet.
Achieving the SDGs will require moving from billions to trillions in resource flows.
The SDGs emphasize the environment, employment, infrastructure, and inequality, sending a clear message to policy-makers and development practitioners.

Financing challenge and framework

The resources needed to implement the SDGs far surpass current development financial flows.
A wide-ranging financing framework is required, capable of channeling resources and investments of all kinds—public and private, national and global.
There is no substitute for concessional resources, especially for the poorest, most fragile or conflict-torn countries.
Mobilizing other types of financing at the levels needed will demand greater efforts to unlock, leverage, and catalyze more public and private flows.
Financing from private sources, including capital markets, institutional investors and businesses, will become particularly important.
Countries need to improve their institutional and policy environments to attract more private investment and financing while pursuing truly sustainable and inclusive growth so prosperity translates into poverty reduction and social progress.

Role and commitments of international financial institutions (IFIs)

IFIs are well-positioned to assist member countries in creating an enabling environment, guided by institutional mandates and member countries’ development goals.
IFIs are committed to helping raise an important part of the required flows, either through direct financing, leveraging capital or catalyzing other resources.
IFIs are determined to continue:
- Combining knowledge and experience with member countries’ perspectives, offering policy and technical advice tailored to local conditions;
- Building a global safety net by providing counter-cyclical support to economies affected by adverse shocks;
- Helping countries implement actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation and disaster risk management;
- Working to strengthen domestic financial markets and deepen financial inclusion;
- Promoting the highest social, environmental and governance standards;
- Attracting more concessional funding to provide grants and concessional lending to low-income, fragile and conflict-affected countries.

Areas for further effort and improvement

IFIs can and should do more within their respective mandates to provide innovative financing and policy solutions customized to the particular needs of each country, subnational entity and region.
Increased emphasis on sharing experiences, lessons learned and best practices acquired through IFI work is needed.
Work with member countries to translate the SDGs into national targets and introduce and implement the policies and programs needed to achieve them.
Further improve coordination and complementarity among IFIs and with other public and private sector actors.
Enhance how effectiveness is measured to continue learning from what works and what does not.

Political and event timeline highlighted

2015 brings critical opportunities to change the future, including:
- July’s Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa;
- The UN Summit on the SDGs;
- The 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in December.
The statement emphasizes that improving lives and protecting the planet deserve coordinated global action, with member countries in the lead role and IFIs ready to play their part.

Statement by the Heads of the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund