The annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington DC are underway, with a series of pre-meetings and press conferences, alongside a full civil society programme of events, ahead of the actual annual meetings over the weekend.
This morning Zoellick held his opening press conference, where amongst much else, he talked about the Bank's role in "helping to create" international financial markets, and enhancing the role of the private sector in delivering health care in poor countries - none of which is exactly music to the ears of campaigners. The unregulated nature of the financial markets is widely blamed for economic turbulence in poor countries, and campaigners from Jubilee Debt Campaign and Oxfam, among others, question the ability of the private sector to deliver essential services such as healthcare in poor countries.
This evening sees the Townhall meeting, when civil society reps get to meet Zoellick, and de Rato the outgoing head of the IMF... news on that later!
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