UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD BANK WITH DR. JIM YONG KIM
Pei Ja: Good afternoon, Dr. Jim Yong Kim. Do you mind talking about your background in education and your studies?
Kim: Yes, of course. I went to the University of Iowa and actually transferred to Brown and graduated Cum Laude and then went to medical school at Harvard, where I got my M.D., and this is how I got my start in the World Health Organization, where I was the director in the HIV/Aids Department.
Pei Ja: Great. Do you mind elaborating on the World Bank and it’s purpose?
Kim: Yes, the World Bank’s official goal is to reduce the level of poverty throughout the world and specifically targets extreme poverty, when you are receiving less than $1.25 per day.
Pei Ja: Wow.
Kim: Per day. Not per hour. Per day, pretty insane. and we invest in developing education and health programs and our goal is to raise that level of poverty.
Pei Ja: Now what are some of the accomplishments that you’ve experienced while working at the World Bank.
Kim: So, the number of people living on $1.25 a day has halved in the past twenty years and that’s been the help of the World Bank. And now it’s just 14.5 percent, and it’s still a lot, about a billion people, it’s still a lot less than what it was.
Pei Ja: Do you mind talking about your experience in public health working with globalization?
Kim: Sure. Well, at the World Health Organization, I really saw that developing countries have little to no access to medicine and these advancements we’ve had in the medical field can really help them out because we’ve overcome some of these diseases. In other parts of the world, the World Health Organization has been able to come in and aid people. And connecting these foreign countries promotes the greater good because we can share our advancements.
Pei Ja: From your experience, do you think that increased globalization in La Suerte will benefit the people?
Kim: I definitely think so, we can share our experiences with them and we will improve their quality of life and make the people healthier and happier.
Pei Ja: Thank you so much Dr. Jim Kim. We greatly appreciate it.