Sachs says he is 'eager for challenge' of World Bank presidency

Mar 3 2012

The new president of the World Bank "should come to office understanding the realities of flooded villages, drought-ridden farms, desperate mothers hovering over comatose, malaria-infected children, and teenage girls unable to pay high school tuition. More than knowing these realities, and caring to end them, the bank president should understand their causes and interconnected solutions," Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece. "My good fortune to see the world through the eyes of others, during 30 years working on some of the world's most vexing problems, has helped me understand various regions' challenges and the need for tailored solutions," which is why "I am eager for this challenge" to lead the World Bank, he writes, advocating for his nomination to be considered for the position.

"Finding the graceful way forward, forging the networks that can create global change, should be the bank's greatest role," Sachs continues, adding, "I'll stand on my record of helping to create those networks," including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. "Properly led, the World Bank can build bridges among science, business, civil society and finance that will put sustainable solutions within reach," he concludes (3/1).