World Bank [to 13 December 2014]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

500+ Organizations Launch Global Coalition to Accelerate Access to Universal Health Coverage
On first-ever Universal Health Coverage Day, all countries urged to make quality health coverage accessible to everyone, everywhere.NEW YORK, 12 December 2014 – A new global coalition of more than 500 leading health and development organizations worldwide is urging governments to accelerate reforms that ensure everyone, everywhere, can access quality health services without being forced into poverty. The coalition was launched today, on the first-ever Universal Health Coverage Day, to stress the importance of universal access to health services for saving lives, ending extreme poverty, building resilience against the health effects of climate change and ending deadly epidemics such as Ebola.Universal Health Coverage Day marks the two-year anniversary of a United Nations resolution, unanimously passed on 12 December 2012, which endorsed universal health coverage as a pillar of sustainable development and global security. Despite progress in combatting global killers such as HIV/AIDS…
Date: December 12, 2014

Statement from World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winners Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi
WASHINGTON, December 10, 2014—World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim welcomed the awarding of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Peace to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi today in Stockholm: “Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi have inspired the world with their their courageous efforts on behalf of children everywhere—for their fundamental right to be educated, to live free of fear and exploitation, to fulfill their unique potential. Malala’s bravery in raising her young voice and standing up to brutal extremism has given new hope to girls everywhere. Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan–the Save Childhood Movement—has peacefully shone a spotlight on the unconscionable exploitation of countless children, rescuing them from slavery and restoring them to childhood. “Both follow in the tradition of Nobel Peace laureates before them, championing the most fundamental rights of all human beings, including and especially the youngest and most vulnerable among us.
Date: December 10, 2014

World Bank Hosts 2nd Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference
In his keynote address on Cities in the Developing World, Edward Glaeser (Harvard University) told a packed audience that the rise of poor country urbanization is the defining development statistic today. He highlighted the need for strong institutions to manage the pressures of urbanization in the future. “There are demons of urbanization, and they need to be tamed. But the future is not rural poverty,” Glaeser said. In the second keynote address on The Power of the Grid, Paul Romer (New York University) emphasized the need for countries to plan in advance for urban expansion. In his presentation on “The Power of the Grid” he used New York City as an example of how urban planning decisions made two centuries ago still affect the development of the city’s infrastructure and commercial activities to this day. Romer urged policy practitioners to “focus on dimensions that can have enormous impact, and that explain why some countries are rich and some are poor…
Date: December 8, 2014