World Bank seeks $100 billion in donations to address 'tragic reversals' in development

FILE PHOTO: World Bank President David Malpass attends the "1+6" Roundtable meeting at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, China November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank hopes to raise $100 billion in donations for the International Development Association fund for poorer countries to address "tragic reversals in development" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, its president David Malpass said on Monday.

The multilateral development bank is forecasting global growth of 5.7% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022, but Malpass said disparities between advanced economies and developing countries were worsening and had set back efforts to reduce extreme poverty by year, and in some cases decades.