Sachs lobbies for Canada’s support

Jeffrey Sachs’ quixotic campaign to become World Bank president continues, and now he’s bidding for Canadian support. In response, the Canadian International Council is hosting a decidedly feisty forum on whether he’s the right man for the job. Former Canadian diplomat and UN official Scott Gilmore made the case against Sachs, whom he accused of ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Jeffrey Sachs' quixotic campaign to become World Bank president continues, and now he's bidding for Canadian support. In response, the Canadian International Council is hosting a decidedly feisty forum on whether he's the right man for the job. Former Canadian diplomat and UN official Scott Gilmore made the case against Sachs, whom he accused of being "the chief proponent of the top-down, centrally planned, western-imposed model of poverty reduction that has so spectacularly failed over the last 50 years." Sachs fired right back:

Jeffrey Sachs’ quixotic campaign to become World Bank president continues, and now he’s bidding for Canadian support. In response, the Canadian International Council is hosting a decidedly feisty forum on whether he’s the right man for the job. Former Canadian diplomat and UN official Scott Gilmore made the case against Sachs, whom he accused of being "the chief proponent of the top-down, centrally planned, western-imposed model of poverty reduction that has so spectacularly failed over the last 50 years." Sachs fired right back:

I am certainly not a proponent of "the top-down, centrally planned, western-imposed model of poverty reduction." I have a long track record, of leading effective programs that cut malaria, AIDS, TB, hunger, and poverty. For example, malaria in sub-Saharan Africa is down by 30-40%, with the strategies that I helped to champion and implement around Africa.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

Tag: Canada

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.