United Nations Radio

World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick Thursday outlined steps to address the immediate risks of the global food crisis while also proposing reforms for the international aid system so it can have a greater impact on the lives of poor people.

Speaking at a conference on improving the quality and impact of development assistance, Zoellick said the record on improving the international aid system was mixed at best and donors, countries and civil society organizations needed to redouble their efforts to make progress.

Zoellick told the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana that "Whether aid works can help determine whether the future is one of hope or privation," "The consequences of getting aid right - or getting it wrong - are very real."

He said that the global food crisis was undermining the drive to overcome poverty and meant it was more urgent than ever to take practical steps to implement the goals of the conference expressed in the Accra Agenda for Action.

A first step was to lift export bans and restrictions for humanitarian food aid. But he acknowledged it was often difficult for countries to remove these bans and promised help from the World Bank Group.

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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