Founding of International Development Association

The International Development Association is part of the World Bank Group and provides low-interest loans and grants to the governments of the world's poorest countries. It was set up because many poor nations could not afford loans on the terms offered by the World Bank's main lending arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Its funds come largely from contributions of wealthier member countries, replenished every few years, with extra money raised on financial markets. IDA money is used for projects in health, education, water, roads and agriculture, and for support of economic reform. Its work has been praised for reaching countries that lack access to commercial credit, and criticized when conditions attached to its loans have imposed hardship.

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