The Asian Development Bank (ADB)

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB)

BACKGROUND / HISTORY

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established during the 1960s amongst the rehabilitation period post World War II. At this time the Asian continent was considered to be one of the poorest regions in the world. The ADB set out with the daunting task of providing financial aid to Asia and the Pacific. Their main objective was to foster economic growth and cooperation within the region.

The ADB was on its way to actuality in 1963 after a resolution was passed in the first Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East. The ADB was officially opened on 19th December 1966 in Manila and consisted of 31 members

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spread rapidly throughout the region in 2003. The ADB therefore provide the necessary support at national and regional levels to combat the further spread of avian influenza. The 2004 December tsunami followed causing mass destruction in India, Indonesia, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The ADB’s response was to commit over $850 million for recovery efforts. The victims of the 2005 October earthquake, which hit Pakistan, received $1 billion in assistance from the ABD.

The ADB is now fully equipped to aid in global economic crises after receiving a 200% increase of their capital base by their Board of Governors. This increase of capital was the largest in the history of the ADB.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/ADB-org-chart.pdf TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS

The Asian Development Bank has many publications, in 46 countries, in various forms of literature and on a multitude of subjects. These publications have been written in eleven different languages; English, Vietnamese, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Mongolian, Indonesian, Spanish, Cambodian and Lao. Publications include:

• Books – 391

• Reports – 682

• Papers and Briefs – 970

• Serials – 229

• Conference Proceedings – 170

• Guides –

These people have suffered from war and post-war circumstances and the ADB has aided in restoring their basic services and improving their livelihoods.

To some in the district of Jaffna in Sri Lanka be able to access clean water could mean life or death. Some families have recently acquired the privilege of accessing good quality potable water from a pipe. This is crucial as clean water is very good for the body and certainly necessary to those who have any type of disease with which unclean water could cause more damage. Those of the small town Karaveddy have been able to benefit enormously from the assistance of the ADB and the North East Community Restoration and Development Project.

The ADB also provided support from those communities which were affected by the civil conflict of Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern provinces (1980-2009) which left thousands without basic services. In October 2001, the ADB started a program which was designed to assist these communities in areas of basic services such as health, education, shelter, water supply and sanitation. They also aided in support for agriculture, irrigation and fisheries which were all affected by the conflict. All eight districts of the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka were also assisted in getting back on their feet after the civil