TED2017
Jim Yong Kim: Doesn't everyone deserve a chance at a good life?
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Aspirations are rising as never before across the world, thanks in large part to smartphones and the internet -- will they be met with opportunity or frustration? Former President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim shares how the institution is working to improve the health and financial futures of people in the poorest countries by boosting investment and de-risking development.
Jim Yong Kim - President, World Bank Group
Jim Yong Kim is leading a global effort to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. Full bio
Jim Yong Kim is leading a global effort to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I just want to share with you
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what I have been experiencing
over the last five years
over the last five years
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in having the great privilege of traveling
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to many of the poorest
countries in the world.
countries in the world.
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This scene is one
I see all the time everywhere,
I see all the time everywhere,
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and these young children
are looking at a smartphone,
are looking at a smartphone,
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and the smartphone is having a huge impact
in even the poorest countries.
in even the poorest countries.
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I said to my team, you know,
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what I see is a rise in aspirations
all over the world.
all over the world.
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In fact, it seems to me
that there's a convergence of aspirations.
that there's a convergence of aspirations.
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And I asked a team of economists
to actually look into this.
to actually look into this.
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Is this true?
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Are aspirations converging
all around the world?
all around the world?
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So they looked at things like Gallup polls
about satisfaction in life
about satisfaction in life
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and what they learned was
that if you have access to the internet,
that if you have access to the internet,
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your satisfaction goes up.
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But another thing happens
that's very important:
that's very important:
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your reference income,
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the income to which you compare your own,
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also goes up.
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Now, if the reference income
of a nation, for example,
of a nation, for example,
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goes up 10 percent
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by comparing themselves to the outside,
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then on average,
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people's own incomes
have to go up at least five percent
have to go up at least five percent
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to maintain the same
level of satisfaction.
level of satisfaction.
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But when you get down
into the lower percentiles of income,
into the lower percentiles of income,
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your income has to go up much more
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if the reference income
goes up 10 percent,
goes up 10 percent,
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something like 20 percent.
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And so with this rise of aspirations,
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the fundamental question is:
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Are we going to have a situation
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where aspirations
are linked to opportunity
are linked to opportunity
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and you get dynamism and economic growth,
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like that which happened
in the country I was born in, in Korea?
in the country I was born in, in Korea?
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Or are aspirations
going to meet frustration?
going to meet frustration?
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This is a real concern,
because between 2012 and 2015,
because between 2012 and 2015,
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terrorism incidents
increased by 74 percent.
increased by 74 percent.
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The number of deaths from terrorism
went up 150 percent.
went up 150 percent.
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Right now, two billion people
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live in conditions
of fragility, conflict, violence,
of fragility, conflict, violence,
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and by 2030, more than 60 percent
of the world's poor
of the world's poor
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will live in these situations
of fragility, conflict and violence.
of fragility, conflict and violence.
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And so what do we do
about meeting these aspirations?
about meeting these aspirations?
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Are there new ways of thinking
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about how we can rise
to meet these aspirations?
to meet these aspirations?
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Because if we don't,
I'm extremely worried.
I'm extremely worried.
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Aspirations are rising as never before
because of access to the internet.
because of access to the internet.
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Everyone knows how everyone else lives.
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Has our ability to meet those aspirations
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risen as well?
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And just to get at the details of this,
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I want to share with you
my own personal story.
my own personal story.
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This is not my mother,
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but during the Korean War,
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my mother literally took her own sister,
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her younger sister, on her back,
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and walked at least part of the way
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to escape Seoul during the Korean War.
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Now, through a series of miracles,
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my mother and father both got
scholarships to go to New York City.
scholarships to go to New York City.
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They actually met in New York City
and got married in New York City.
and got married in New York City.
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My father, too, was a refugee.
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At the age of 19, he left his family
in the northern part of the country,
in the northern part of the country,
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escaped through the border
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and never saw his family again.
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Now, when they were married
and living in New York,
and living in New York,
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my father was a waiter
at Patricia Murphy's restaurant.
at Patricia Murphy's restaurant.
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Their aspirations went up.
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They understood what it was like
to live in a place like New York City
to live in a place like New York City
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in the 1950s.
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Well, my brother was born
and they came back to Korea,
and they came back to Korea,
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and we had what I remember
as kind of an idyllic life,
as kind of an idyllic life,
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but what was happening
in Korea at that time
in Korea at that time
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was the country was one
of the poorest in the world
of the poorest in the world
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and there was political upheaval.
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There were demonstrations just down
the street from our house all the time,
the street from our house all the time,
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students protesting
against the military government.
against the military government.
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And at the time,
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the aspirations of the World Bank Group,
the organization I lead now,
the organization I lead now,
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were extremely low for Korea.
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Their idea was that Korea would
find it difficult without foreign aid
find it difficult without foreign aid
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to provide its people with more
than the bare necessities of life.
than the bare necessities of life.
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So the situation is
Korea is in a tough position,
Korea is in a tough position,
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my parents have seen
what life is like in the United States.
what life is like in the United States.
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They got married there.
My brother was born there.
My brother was born there.
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And they felt that in order
to give us an opportunity
to give us an opportunity
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to reach their aspirations for us,
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we had to go and come back
to the United States.
to the United States.
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Now, we came back.
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First we went to Dallas.
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My father did his dental degree
all over again.
all over again.
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And then we ended up
moving to Iowa, of all places.
moving to Iowa, of all places.
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We grew up in Iowa.
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And in Iowa, we went
through the whole course.
through the whole course.
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I went to high school, I went to college.
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And then one day,
something that I'll never forget,
something that I'll never forget,
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my father picked me up
after my sophomore year in college,
after my sophomore year in college,
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and he was driving me home,
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and he said, "Jim,
what are your aspirations?
what are your aspirations?
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What do you want to study?
What do you want to do?"
What do you want to do?"
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And I said, "Dad," --
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My mother actually was a philosopher,
and had filled us with ideas
and had filled us with ideas
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about protest and social justice,
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and I said, "Dad, I'm going to study
political science and philosophy,
political science and philosophy,
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and I'm going to become
part of a political movement."
part of a political movement."
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My father, the Korean dentist,
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slowly pulled the car
over to the side of the road --
over to the side of the road --
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(Laughter)
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He looked back at me, and he said,
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"Jim, you finish your medical residency,
you can study anything you want."
you can study anything you want."
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(Laughter)
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Now, I've told this story
to a mostly Asian audience before.
to a mostly Asian audience before.
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Nobody laughs. They just shake their head.
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Of course.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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So, tragically,
my father died at a young age,
my father died at a young age,
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30 years ago at the age of 57,
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what happens to be how old I am right now,
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and when he died in the middle
of my medical and graduate studies --
of my medical and graduate studies --
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You see, I actually got it around it
by doing medicine and anthropology.
by doing medicine and anthropology.
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I studied both of them in graduate school.
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But then right about that time,
I met these two people,
I met these two people,
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Ophelia Dahl and Paul Farmer.
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And Paul and I were in the same program.
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We were studying medicine
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and at the same time
getting our PhD's in anthropology.
getting our PhD's in anthropology.
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And we began to ask
some pretty fundamental questions.
some pretty fundamental questions.
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For people who have the great privilege
of studying medicine and anthropology --
of studying medicine and anthropology --
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I had come from parents who were refugees.
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Paul grew up literally
in a bus in a swamp in Florida.
in a bus in a swamp in Florida.
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He liked to call himself "white trash."
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And so we had this opportunity
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and we said,
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what is it that we need to do?
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Given our ridiculously
elaborate educations,
elaborate educations,
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what is the nature
of our responsibility to the world?
of our responsibility to the world?
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And we decided that we needed
to start an organization.
to start an organization.
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It's called Partners in Health.
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And by the way,
there's a movie made about that.
there's a movie made about that.
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(Applause)
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There's a movie
that was just a brilliant movie
that was just a brilliant movie
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they made about it
called "Bending the Arc."
called "Bending the Arc."
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It launched at Sundance this past January.
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Jeff Skoll is here.
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Jeff is one of the ones
who made it happen.
who made it happen.
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And we began to think
about what it would take for us
about what it would take for us
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to actually have our aspirations
reach the level
reach the level
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of some of the poorest
communities in the world.
communities in the world.
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This is my very first visit
to Haiti in 1988,
to Haiti in 1988,
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and in 1988, we elaborated
a sort of mission statement,
a sort of mission statement,
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which is we are going to make
a preferential option for the poor
a preferential option for the poor
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in health.
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Now, it took us a long time, and we
were graduate students in anthropology.
were graduate students in anthropology.
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We were reading up one side of Marx
and down the other.
and down the other.
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Habermas. Fernand Braudel.
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We were reading everything
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and we had to come to a conclusion
of how are we going to structure our work?
of how are we going to structure our work?
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So "O for the P," we called it,
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a preferential option for the poor.
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The most important thing
about a preferential option for the poor
about a preferential option for the poor
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is what it's not.
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It's not a preferential option
for your own sense of heroism.
for your own sense of heroism.
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It's not a preferential option
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for your own idea about
how to lift the poor out of poverty.
how to lift the poor out of poverty.
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It's not a preferential option
for your own organization.
for your own organization.
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And the hardest of all,
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it's not a preferential option
for your poor.
for your poor.
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It's a preferential option for the poor.
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So what do you do?
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Well, Haiti, we started building --
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Everyone told us, the cost-effective thing
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is just focus on vaccination
and maybe a feeding program.
and maybe a feeding program.
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But what the Haitians wanted
was a hospital.
was a hospital.
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They wanted schools.
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They wanted to provide their children
with the opportunities
with the opportunities
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that they'd been hearing about
from others, relatives, for example,
from others, relatives, for example,
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who had gone to the United States.
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They wanted the same kinds
of opportunities as my parents did.
of opportunities as my parents did.
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I recognized them.
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And so that's what we did.
We built hospitals.
We built hospitals.
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We provided education.
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And we did everything we could
to try to give them opportunities.
to try to give them opportunities.
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Now, my experience really became intense
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at Partners in Health
in this community, Carabayllo,
in this community, Carabayllo,
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in the northern slums of Lima, Peru.
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And in this community,
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we started out by really just going
to people's homes and talking to people,
to people's homes and talking to people,
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and we discovered an outbreak, an epidemic
of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
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This is Melquiades.
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Melquiades was a patient at that time,
he was about 18 years old,
he was about 18 years old,
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and he had a very difficult form
of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
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All of the gurus in the world,
the global health gurus,
the global health gurus,
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said it is not cost-effective
to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.
to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.
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It's too complicated. It's too expensive.
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You just can't do it. It can't be done.
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And in addition,
they were getting angry at us,
they were getting angry at us,
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because the implication was
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if it could be done,
we would have done it.
we would have done it.
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Who do you think you are?
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And the people that we fought with
were the World Health Organization
were the World Health Organization
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and probably the organization
we fought with most
we fought with most
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was the World Bank Group.
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Now, we did everything we could
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to convince Melquiades
to take his medicines,
to take his medicines,
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because it's really hard,
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and not once during the time of treatment
did Melquiades's family ever say,
did Melquiades's family ever say,
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"Hey, you know, Melquiades
is just not cost-effective.
is just not cost-effective.
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Why don't you go on
and treat somebody else?"
and treat somebody else?"
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(Laughter)
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I hadn't seen Melquiades
for about 10 years
for about 10 years
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and when we had
our annual meetings in Lima, Peru
our annual meetings in Lima, Peru
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a couple of years ago,
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the filmmakers found him
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and here is us getting together.
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(Applause)
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He has become a bit of a media star
because he goes to the film openings,
because he goes to the film openings,
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and he knows how to work an audience now.
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(Laughter)
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But as soon as we won --
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We did win. We won the argument.
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You should treat
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis --
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis --
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we heard the same arguments
in the early 2000s about HIV.
in the early 2000s about HIV.
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All of the leading global health
people in the world said
people in the world said
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it is impossible
to treat HIV in poor countries.
to treat HIV in poor countries.
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Too expensive, too complicated,
you can't do it.
you can't do it.
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Compared to drug-resistant TB treatment,
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it's actually easier.
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And we were seeing patients like this.
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Joseph Jeune.
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Joseph Jeune also never mentioned
that he was not cost-effective.
that he was not cost-effective.
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A few months of medicines,
and this is what he looked like.
and this is what he looked like.
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(Applause)
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We call that the Lazarus Effect
of HIV treatment.
of HIV treatment.
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11:22
Joseline came to us looking like this.
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This is what she looked like
a few months later.
a few months later.
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(Applause)
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Now, our argument, our battle, we thought,
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was with the organizations
that kept saying it's not cost-effective.
that kept saying it's not cost-effective.
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11:37
We were saying, no,
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preferential option for the poor
requires us to raise our aspirations
requires us to raise our aspirations
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11:42
to meet those of the poor for themselves.
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11:44
And they said, well, that's a nice thought
but it's just not cost-effective.
but it's just not cost-effective.
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So in the nerdy way
that we have operated Partners in Health,
that we have operated Partners in Health,
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we wrote a book against,
basically, the World Bank.
basically, the World Bank.
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11:57
It says that because the World Bank
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has focused so much
on just economic growth
on just economic growth
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12:03
and said that governments
have to shrink their budgets
have to shrink their budgets
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12:07
and reduce expenditures
in health, education and social welfare --
in health, education and social welfare --
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we thought that was fundamentally wrong.
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12:13
And we argued with the World Bank.
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And then a crazy thing happened.
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12:17
President Obama nominated me
to be President of the World Bank.
to be President of the World Bank.
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(Applause)
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12:26
Now, when I went to do the vetting process
with President Obama's team,
with President Obama's team,
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12:31
they had a copy of "Dying For Growth,"
and they had read every page.
and they had read every page.
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12:35
And I said, "OK, that's it, right?
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You guys are going to drop me?"
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12:38
He goes, "Oh, no, no, it's OK."
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And I was nominated,
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and I walked through the door
of the World Bank Group in July of 2012,
of the World Bank Group in July of 2012,
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and that statement on the wall,
"Our dream is a world free of poverty."
"Our dream is a world free of poverty."
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12:50
A few months after that,
we actually turned it into a goal:
we actually turned it into a goal:
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12:53
end extreme poverty by 2030,
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boost shared prosperity.
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12:57
That's what we do now
at the World Bank Group.
at the World Bank Group.
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I feel like I have brought
the preferential option for the poor
the preferential option for the poor
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to the World Bank Group.
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13:05
(Applause)
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But this is TED,
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and so I want to share
with you some concerns,
with you some concerns,
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13:14
and then make a proposal.
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13:17
The Fourth Industrial Revolution,
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13:18
now, you guys know
so much better than I do,
so much better than I do,
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13:20
but here's the thing that concerns me.
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What we hear about is job loss.
You've all heard that.
You've all heard that.
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13:25
Our own data suggest to us
that two thirds of all jobs,
that two thirds of all jobs,
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13:27
currently existing jobs
in developing countries,
in developing countries,
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13:30
will be lost because of automation.
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13:31
Now, you've got to make up for those jobs.
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13:34
Now, one of the ways
to make up for those jobs
to make up for those jobs
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13:36
is to turn community health workers
into a formal labor force.
into a formal labor force.
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13:39
That's what we want to do.
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13:41
(Applause)
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13:42
We think the numbers will work out,
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13:44
that as health outcomes get better
and as people have formal work,
and as people have formal work,
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13:48
we're going to be able to train them
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13:50
with the soft-skills training
that you add to it
that you add to it
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13:52
to become workers
that will have a huge impact,
that will have a huge impact,
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13:56
and that may be the one area
that grows the most.
that grows the most.
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13:59
But here's the other thing
that bothers me:
that bothers me:
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14:02
right now it seems pretty clear to me
that the jobs of the future
that the jobs of the future
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14:06
will be more digitally demanding,
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14:08
and there is a crisis
in childhood stunting.
in childhood stunting.
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14:12
So these are photos from Charles Nelson,
who shared these with us
who shared these with us
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14:15
from Harvard Medical School.
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14:17
And what these photos show
on the one side, on the left side,
on the one side, on the left side,
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14:21
is a three-month-old who has been stunted:
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14:26
not adequate nutrition,
not adequate stimulation.
not adequate stimulation.
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14:28
And on the other side,
of course, is a normal child,
of course, is a normal child,
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14:31
and the normal child
has all of these neuronal connections.
has all of these neuronal connections.
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14:34
Now, the neuronal connections
are important,
are important,
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14:36
because that is
the definition of human capital.
the definition of human capital.
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14:40
Now, we know that we
can reduce these rates.
can reduce these rates.
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14:43
We can reduce these rates
of childhood stunting quickly,
of childhood stunting quickly,
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14:47
but if we don't, India, for example,
with 38 percent childhood stunting,
with 38 percent childhood stunting,
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14:51
how are they going to compete
in the economy of the future
in the economy of the future
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14:54
if 40 percent of their future workers
cannot achieve educationally
cannot achieve educationally
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15:00
and certainly we worry
about achieving economically
about achieving economically
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15:04
in a way that will help
the country as a whole grow.
the country as a whole grow.
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15:07
Now, what are we going to do?
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15:10
78 trillion dollars
is the size of the global economy.
is the size of the global economy.
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15:14
8.55 trillion dollars are sitting
in negative interest rate bonds.
in negative interest rate bonds.
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15:18
That means that you give
the German central bank your money
the German central bank your money
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15:22
and then you pay them to keep your money.
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15:25
That's a negative interest rate bond.
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15:27
24.4 trillion dollars
in very low-earning government bonds.
in very low-earning government bonds.
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15:30
And 8 trillion literally sitting
in the hands of rich people
in the hands of rich people
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15:35
under their very large mattresses.
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15:38
What we are trying to do
is now use our own tools --
is now use our own tools --
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15:42
and just to get nerdy for a second,
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15:43
we're talking about
first-loss risk debt instruments,
first-loss risk debt instruments,
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15:46
we're talking about derisking,
blended finance,
blended finance,
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15:48
we're talking about
political risk insurance,
political risk insurance,
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15:51
credit enhancement --
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15:52
all these things that I've now learned
at the World Bank Group
at the World Bank Group
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15:55
that rich people use every single day
to make themselves richer,
to make themselves richer,
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15:59
but we haven't used aggressively enough
on behalf of the poor
on behalf of the poor
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16:03
to bring this capital in.
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16:05
(Applause)
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16:12
So does this work?
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16:14
Can you actually bring
private-sector players into a country
private-sector players into a country
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16:19
and really make things work?
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16:20
Well, we've done it a couple of times.
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16:22
This is Zambia, Scaling Solar.
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16:24
It's a box-set solution
from the World Bank
from the World Bank
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16:27
where we come in
and we do all the things you need
and we do all the things you need
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16:29
to attract private-sector investors.
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16:31
And in this case, Zambia went
from having a cost of electricity
from having a cost of electricity
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16:35
at 25 cents a kilowatt-hour,
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1960
16:38
and by just doing simple things,
doing the auction,
doing the auction,
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16:42
changing some policies,
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16:43
we were able to bring the cost down.
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16:46
Lowest bid,
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16:47
25 cents a kilowatt-hour for Zambia?
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16:50
The lowest bid was 4.7 cents
a kilowatt-hour. It's possible.
a kilowatt-hour. It's possible.
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16:54
(Applause)
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16:56
But here's my proposal for you.
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16:58
This is from a group called Zipline,
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17:00
a cool company, and they
literally are rocket scientists.
literally are rocket scientists.
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17:03
They figured out
how to use drones in Rwanda.
how to use drones in Rwanda.
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17:06
This is me launching a drone in Rwanda
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17:08
that delivers blood
anywhere in the country
anywhere in the country
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17:11
in less than an hour.
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17:12
So we save lives,
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17:14
this program saved lives --
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17:16
(Applause)
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17:17
This program made money for Zipline
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17:18
and this program saved
huge amounts of money for Rwanda.
huge amounts of money for Rwanda.
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17:22
That's what we need,
and we need that from all of you.
and we need that from all of you.
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17:25
I'm asking you, carve out
a little bit of time in your brains
a little bit of time in your brains
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17:28
to think about the technology
that you work on,
that you work on,
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17:31
the companies that you start,
the design that you do.
the design that you do.
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17:34
Think a little bit and work with us
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17:37
to see if we can come up with these kinds
of extraordinary win-win solutions.
of extraordinary win-win solutions.
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17:41
I'm going to leave you
with one final story.
with one final story.
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I was in Tanzania,
and I was in a classroom.
and I was in a classroom.
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17:47
This is me with a classroom
of 11-year-olds.
of 11-year-olds.
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17:51
And I asked them, as I always do,
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17:53
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
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17:55
Two raised their hands and said,
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17:56
"I want to be President
of the World Bank."
of the World Bank."
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17:59
(Laughter)
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18:00
And just like you, my own team
and their teachers laughed.
and their teachers laughed.
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18:04
But then I stopped them.
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18:05
I said, "Look, I want to tell you a story.
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18:09
When I was born in South Korea,
this is what it looked like.
this is what it looked like.
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3480
18:13
This is where I came from.
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18:15
And when I was three years old,
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18:18
in preschool,
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1200
18:20
I don't think that George David Woods,
the President of the World Bank,
the President of the World Bank,
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3376
18:23
if he had visited Korea on that day
and come to my classroom,
and come to my classroom,
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18:27
that he would have thought
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18:28
that the future President
of the World Bank
of the World Bank
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18:30
was sitting in that classroom.
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18:32
Don't let anyone ever tell you
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18:34
that you cannot be
President of the World Bank.
President of the World Bank.
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2776
18:37
Now -- thank you.
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18:38
(Applause)
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Let me leave you with one thought.
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18:42
I came from a country
that was the poorest in the world.
that was the poorest in the world.
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18:44
I'm President of the World Bank.
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18:46
I cannot and I will not
pull up the ladder behind me.
pull up the ladder behind me.
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18:49
This is urgent.
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18:51
Aspirations are going up.
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18:52
Everywhere aspirations are going up.
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18:55
You folks in this room, work with us.
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18:57
We know that we can find
those Zipline-type solutions
those Zipline-type solutions
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19:01
and help the poor
leapfrog into a better world,
leapfrog into a better world,
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19:05
but it won't happen
until we work together.
until we work together.
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19:08
The future "you" --
and especially for your children --
and especially for your children --
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19:11
the future you
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19:12
will depend on how much care
and compassion we bring
and compassion we bring
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19:15
to ensuring that the future "us"
provides equality of opportunity
provides equality of opportunity
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19:20
for every child in the world.
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19:21
Thank you very much.
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19:22
(Applause)
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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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19:27
(Applause)
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19:33
Chris Anderson: You'd almost think
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19:34
people are surprised
to hear a talk like this
to hear a talk like this
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19:36
from the President of the World Bank.
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19:38
It's kind of cool.
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19:39
I'd encourage you to even be
a little more specific on your proposal.
a little more specific on your proposal.
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19:43
There's many investors,
entrepreneurs in this room.
entrepreneurs in this room.
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19:47
How will you partner with them?
What's your proposal?
What's your proposal?
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19:50
Jim Yong Kim: Can I get nerdy
for just a second.
for just a second.
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19:52
CA: Get nerdy. Absolutely.
JYK: So here's what we did.
JYK: So here's what we did.
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19:55
Insurance companies never invest
in developing country infrastructure,
in developing country infrastructure,
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3296
19:58
for example, because
they can't take the risk.
they can't take the risk.
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20:00
They're holding money
for people who pay for insurance.
for people who pay for insurance.
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20:03
So what we did was a Swedish
International Development Association
International Development Association
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3136
20:06
gave us a little bit of money,
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20:07
we went out and raised a little bit
more money, a hundred million,
more money, a hundred million,
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3136
20:11
and we took first loss,
meaning if this thing goes bad,
meaning if this thing goes bad,
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20:13
10 percent of the loss we'll just eat,
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20:15
and the rest of you will be safe.
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20:17
And that created
a 90-percent chunk, tranche
a 90-percent chunk, tranche
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3736
20:21
that was triple B, investment-grade,
so the insurance companies invested.
so the insurance companies invested.
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20:24
So for us, what we're doing
is taking our public money
is taking our public money
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20:29
and using it to derisk
specific instruments
specific instruments
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20:32
to bring people in from the outside.
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20:34
So all of you who are sitting
on trillions of dollars of cash,
on trillions of dollars of cash,
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20:37
come to us. Right?
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20:38
(Laughter)
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20:39
CA: And what you're specifically
looking for are investment proposals
looking for are investment proposals
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20:43
that create employment
in the developing world.
in the developing world.
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20:45
JYK: Absolutely. Absolutely.
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20:46
So these will be, for example,
in infrastructure that brings energy,
in infrastructure that brings energy,
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3736
20:50
builds roads, bridges, ports.
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20:53
These kinds of things
are necessary to create jobs,
are necessary to create jobs,
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2736
20:55
but also what we're saying is
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20:58
you may think that the technology
you're working on
you're working on
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21:00
or the business that you're working on
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21:02
may not have applications
in the developing world,
in the developing world,
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3056
21:05
but look at Zipline.
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21:06
And that Zipline thing didn't happen
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2016
21:08
just because of the quality
of the technology.
of the technology.
449
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21:11
It was because they engaged
with the Rwandans early
with the Rwandans early
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21:14
and used artificial intelligence --
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1856
21:16
one thing, Rwanda has great broadband --
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21:19
but these things fly
completely on their own.
completely on their own.
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2856
21:21
So we will help you do that.
We will make the introductions.
We will make the introductions.
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21:24
We will even provide financing.
We will help you do that.
We will help you do that.
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21:27
CA: How much capital
is the World Bank willing to deploy
is the World Bank willing to deploy
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21:30
to back those kinds of efforts?
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21:31
JYK: Chris, you're always getting me
to try to do something like this.
to try to do something like this.
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21:35
CA: I'm trying to get you in trouble.
JYK: So here's what we're going to do.
JYK: So here's what we're going to do.
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3576
21:38
We have 25 billion a year
that we're investing in poor countries,
that we're investing in poor countries,
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4736
21:43
the poorest countries.
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1216
21:44
And as we invest
over the next three years,
over the next three years,
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21:46
25 billion a year,
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21:48
we have got to think with you
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21:50
about how to use that money
more effectively.
more effectively.
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2136
21:52
So I can't give you a specific number.
It depends on the quality of the ideas.
It depends on the quality of the ideas.
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21:56
So bring us your ideas,
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21:57
and I don't think that financing
is going to be the problem.
is going to be the problem.
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5160
22:03
CA: All right, you heard it
from the man himself.
from the man himself.
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22:05
Jim, thanks so much.
JYK: Thank you. Thank you.
JYK: Thank you. Thank you.
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22:08
(Applause)
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3400
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jim Yong Kim - President, World Bank GroupJim Yong Kim is leading a global effort to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.
Why you should listen
Jim Yong Kim is the 12th president of the World Bank Group. Soon after he assumed his position in July 2012, the organization established two goals to guide its work: to end extreme poverty by 2030 and to boost shared prosperity, focusing on the bottom 40 percent of the population in developing countries. In September 2016, the World Bank Group Board unanimously reappointed Kim to a second five-year term as president.
During his first term, the World Bank Group supported the development priorities of countries at levels never seen outside a financial crisis and, with its partners, achieved two successive, record replenishments of the World Bank Group’s fund for the poorest. The institution also launched several innovative financial instruments, including facilities to address infrastructure needs, prevent pandemics and help the millions of people forcibly displaced from their homes by climate shocks, conflict, and violence.
Kim's career has revolved around health, education and delivering services to the poor. In 1987, he co-founded Partners In Health, a nonprofit medical organization that works in poor communities on four continents. He has received a MacArthur "genius" grant, was recognized as one of America's "25 Best Leaders" by U.S. News & World Report and was named one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World.
Jim Yong Kim | Speaker | TED.com