"Given the magnitude of the challenges facing African countries and the global implications of this collective emergency, we call on our partners to join us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their contribution to IDA," William Ruto said at the opening of the IDA replenishment conference, which is taking place today in Nairobi. Several African presidents, including those of Madagascar, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria and Tanzania, are meeting today for the session, which marks the beginning of the 22nd IDA replenishment cycle, after raising $93 billion (€86.7 billion) in 2021, which could now rise to $120 billion, almost €112 billion, if the host president's appeal is met. Every three years, the members and donors of the World Bank meet to review the institution's framework and define the funding for the next cycle of IDA, the World Bank institution that lends at zero or very low interest rates to the world's poorest countries, which include all Portuguese-speaking African countries, with the exception of Angola and Equatorial Guinea, countries that, being in the middle-income category, do not have access to IDA loans. Created in 1960, this arm of the World Bank is the largest source of funding for these countries, despite the growing trend of commercial and bilateral debt with new players, such as China or Middle Eastern countries. "IDA requires a significant capital injection," Ruto said, recalling that last year three-quarters of IDA's total investments, worth about $26 billion, equivalent to €24.2 billion, went to Africa. Last year, the new president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, said that he would seek an increase of at least 25% in contributions from donors and members of the World Bank, promising to make the organisation more efficient, namely by reducing bureaucracy, the requirements for access to funding and the redundant procedures for accessing loans. In this morning's session, almost a dozen African presidents and leaders took to the stage in Nairobi to defend the importance of IDA funding, such as the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, who said: "IDA is vital for our financing and for putting us on a trajectory to achieve our full potential". In the speeches, the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu, defended the extension of the maturities of these loans to 50 years and gave the example of how a $2 million, €1.8 million, IDA loan allowed that amount to be leveraged to a total of $60 million, almost €56 million, for a project to strengthen resilience to floods. Also present at the meeting, the President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera, was even more assertive: "IDA has saved Malawi from the brink, helping the economy in real time whenever a climate-related disaster strikes". Read Also: At least 42 dead due to the rupture of a dam in Kenya (Portuguese version)