VOA常速英语2008年-Islamic Bank Seeks to Fight Poverty in Africa

By Uma Ramiah
Dakar
20 March 2008

The Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank is trying to help the most impoverished¹ member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which held a summit last week in Senegal. Most of the poorer countries of the group are in Africa. Uma Ramiah reports from Dakar initiation² and fundraising for the bank's Islamic Solidarity³ Fund for Development remain challenging.

The Islamic Development Bank took on a leading role in fighting poverty in sub-Saharan Africa with the creation of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development two years ago.

Ahmed Ali has been president of the IDB since its creation in 1975.

"Half of the membership of the IDB are in Africa. Because IDB gives priority to the least developed member countries, they get the most attention from the Islamic Development Bank," he said.

Seeking a total contribution of $10 billion from member countries, the Islamic Solidarity Fund is specifically aimed at combating poverty in the poorest members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Ali says the bank has generally focused on development, but the new fund will focus on poverty reduction.

"The main purpose of IDB is really to enhance the cooperation of its member countries in their efforts for economic development and social progress," he said. "IDB really concentrates on human development. But for special circumstances for African countries, there are other priorities for water, for health, as well as roads for landlocked countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger."

He attended the OIC conference last week in Dakar, and says though the fund stands at $2.6 billion, he remains⁴ optimistic this figure will soon increase.

"Until now, about $2.6 billion have been located for this fund and we are contacting our member countries for this fund .... During the summit in Dakar a number of member countries informed me personally that they are in the process of completing their internal procedures to announce their contribution to the fund. There was a great support for the fund during the summit, especially from the chairman of the summit in Dakar, the president of Senegal. In strong words he supported the fund," said Ali.

During the OIC Summit, both Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade⁵ and his foreign minister pushed for action by the OIC on the Islamic Solidarity Fund.

Speaking to media, both said they saw this fund as a chance for member countries to reach out and help those they called their Muslim brothers and sisters, especially in Africa. While donating to the fund is not a requirement, Ali says members states are expected to give what they can.

Ali expects to start projects soon. The new fund, he says, will help sub-Saharan countries reach the U.N. Millennium⁶ Development Goals by 2015.

"We must start immediately," said Ali. "The board met a few weeks ago to approve the first two programs, one for microfinancing and one for vocational training. Each will be in the size of $500 million. The fund will contribute $100 million, and we will mobilize the rest from member countries. We are identifying now actual projects especially in microfinancing and vocational training, because of the high percentage of unemployment of the youth in our member countries, especially for girls. So this is our major concern now for this fund."

The Islamic Development Bank also invests in infrastructure⁷ and development projects throughout the Muslim world. Loans given to member countries, in conformity⁸ with Islamic principles, are interest-free.

The bank has a total authorized⁹ capital of more than $45 billion. Its largest contributors and shareholders¹⁰ are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, UAE, Turkey, Egypt and Iran.

Headquartered in Jeddah, the Islamic Development Bank celebrated¹¹ its 34th birthday this year. Many consider it the "World Bank" of the Muslim populace. It holds observer status to the United Nations General Assembly and some of its membership make up the wealthiest countries in the world. But of its 56 members, almost half are impoverished sub-Saharan African countries.

1 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 initiation   

n.开始

参考例句：

• her initiation into the world of marketing 她的初次涉足营销界
• It was my initiation into the world of high fashion. 这是我初次涉足高级时装界。

3 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

6 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

9 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

10 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

11 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。