11 April 2014: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to leave no one behind at the End Poverty Call to Action, which took place on 10 April 2014, at World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on the sidelines of the 2014 Spring Meetings of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A related event highlighted the Bank’s efforts on shared prosperity.

At the Call to Action, leaders called on young people to help make this generation the first to end extreme poverty. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN has three priorities at this time: accelerating the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); defining the post-2015 development agenda; and fighting climate change. By 2030, he said, “there should be absolutely nobody who is hungry. We have to eliminate abject poverty; all school age children should have quality education; we have to reduce significantly the number of unnecessary deaths, particularly women who are dying needlessly to give new lives.” Ban expressed his commitment to working with the World Bank and other partners to end poverty and “get to a sustainable path.” The event also featured young leaders working on issues such as entrepreneurship, education and gender equality. The event focused on “building excitement and support, as well as catalyzing action, around the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.”

At an event on ‘Shared Prosperity, Delivering Results,’ on 11 April, panelists discussed policies to support shared prosperity and the role of aid in ending poverty and promoting inclusive growth. Bank President Jim Kim identified conflict as one of the biggest obstacles in ending poverty, and called for linking development with security. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the MDGs, recommended, inter alia, investing in children’s education, health and nutrition and transforming energy systems.

A note prepared by the World Bank for the spring meetings, ‘Prosperity for All: Ending Extreme Poverty,’ examines progress in reducing global poverty and promoting shared prosperity. It describes economic growth as vital in reaching these goals while also recommending allocating more resources to the extreme poor. [UN Secretary-General Statement] [Call to Action Event Information] [World Bank Press Release] [Publication: Prosperity for All: Ending Extreme Poverty] [Shared Prosperity Event Information]