The World Bank and global faith leaders are joining together to end extreme poverty around the world by 2030.
The effort brings together the influential faith community with a major U.S.-based institution that has committed billions of dollars to development work and can leverage billions more from private sector sources to continue a 25-year trend of declining poverty in the world's poorest nations.
"The most important thing is that faith leaders and now the World Bank Group share a common goal," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said during a teleconference April 9 announcing the partnership.
As the alliance was announced, the faith leaders released a statement outlining their commitment to ending extreme poverty within 15 years, calling such action a "moral and spiritual imperative."
"This is an historic moment for us because it now is possible to end extreme poverty by 2030," said the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, one of seven faith leaders present for the announcement from the World Bank. "This is an example of the love of God who has made a priority of the poor."
Source: Catholic News Service | Dennis Sadowski