Despite the assistance that organizations such as the International Monetary Fund,the World Bank,and the World Trade Organization provide to poor countries,critics charge that their practices and policies really only benefit the rich.Using examples,assess whether such criticisms are valid.

Responses will vary,but should include knowledge of the following:
The actions of the IMF toward poor countries have been anything but supportive.For example,some loan repayment policies require recipient nations to cut spending on public services,such as health care,education,and food subsidies,cuts that actually increase infant mortality rates and malnutrition levels in the name of repaying IMF loans.In some cases,then,IMF involvement has made the living conditions in these countries worse.Although IMF funding has provided hundreds of billions of dollars to projects around the world,some still see it as a mechanism through which the rich economies can control the poor economies.
The World Bank's behaviour in the development of poor countries is just as controversial as that of the IMF;it too has been accused of interfering with local decision making,and often in a direction not in the best interests of the local people.Some argue that by charging interest on loans,the World Bank is restricting the freedom of recipient nations to determine how best to spend their funds,since these nations are by necessity focused on making interest payments at the expense of local needs.World Bank loans,much like the quota system for the IMF,have often negatively affected people in the Global South.
There are many who criticize the IMF,World Bank,and WTO by suggesting that these organizations actually make nations poorer and redistribute wealth from the Global South to the North.Between 2000 and 2005,for example,29 of the poorest countries of the world paid around $15.3 billion to service their combined external debts.This money represents wealth that is transferred from these poor countries to the developed world.These huge debt financing costs seriously undermine these countries' ability to provide for their people.