International Development Association

The International Development Association (IDA) is the World Bank institution that provides grants and concessional credits to the world’s poorest countries.

IDA concessional financing: IDA financing consists of grants and credits with below-market interest rates and long repayment periods. These terms distinguish IDA support from ordinary World Bank lending.
Robert McNamara: Robert McNamara was World Bank president from 1968 to 1981 and expanded its development lending. His leadership later greatly enlarged IDA’s role and resources.
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative: The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative is a program that provides debt relief to eligible poor countries. IDA helped implement relief that reduced debts owed by some of its borrowers.
Sovereign debt: Sovereign debt is money owed by a national government to domestic or foreign creditors. Even concessional IDA credits add repayment obligations to borrower governments.
IDA replenishment: IDA replenishment is the periodic negotiation through which donor governments commit resources to the association. Replenishments renew much of the funding available for IDA commitments.
World Bank: The World Bank is an international financial institution that finances development and reconstruction. IDA was created within the World Bank to serve countries unable to borrow on ordinary terms.
Multidimensional poverty: Multidimensional poverty is deprivation across several aspects of well-being, including health, education, and living standards. IDA-funded programs address poverty beyond income alone.
Debt sustainability: Debt sustainability is a government’s ability to meet current and future debt obligations without severe economic disruption. IDA grant and credit decisions weigh the risk that borrowing will become unmanageable.
IDA allocation system: IDA allocation systems determine how available resources are distributed among eligible countries and programs. Country performance, poverty, and other criteria shape how IDA resources are assigned.
United Nations: The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1945 to promote international cooperation. The UN’s postwar development agenda helped frame calls for concessional development finance.

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International Finance CorporationRelated: IDA's public-sector focus contrasts with the IFC's mandate to support private businesses.