World bank increases lending
World Bank lending to developing countries to help them recover from the economic downturn reached $100bn (£65bn) yesterday. The level of support is at an all-time high for the global development bank and includes safety nets for the poor, infrastructure funding to create jobs and build a foundation for recovery, agriculture to support small farmers, and microfinance to help small businesses. Lending to health and social services increased from $1.6bn in 2008 to $6.3bn in 2009.