Jeddah: 1.12.08 Islamic Development Bank Group President Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali called on the international community to partake in development efforts that would help improve the lives of those living in poverty. This statement was delivered Monday 3 Dhu Al’Hijjah 1429H (1 December 2008) during the Doha Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development which assembled world leaders, ministers and others from the financial industry in a series of roundtables to discuss the actions for financing global development. Dr Ali stated that the IDB Group implemented various development projects that aim towards increasing international financial and technical cooperation to alleviate poverty and foster development including a partnership with WHO and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to implement Roll-back Malaria Programs in four IDB member countries in Africa. Additionally, IDB has partnered with some private health care services to provide affordable access to quality healthcare to the poorest households in Bangladesh, Yemen, and Sudan. In a roundtable entitled "Increasing International Financial and Technical Cooperation for Development,” Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali delivered the opening statement stressing that, “IDB places development at the centre stage by promoting efforts and initiatives related to enhancing official and private capital flows, as well as strengthening South-South technical cooperation.” The President addressed the concerns of developing countries by commenting on the gap between decisions and promises made by various conferences and the actual delivery, and called for the adoption of measurable standards and follow-ups, ensuring effective communication on accountability and responsibility for implementation. In this context, it was suggested that the international community focus its efforts on alleviating poverty and vulnerability from developing country, while all cooperating in a harmonized model for the successful progression from poverty. Dr. Ali stressed the importance of realizing that the world's worst humanitarian disaster lies in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. He noted that more than three quarters of the population in these countries are among the poorest and live the hardest conditions on earth. IDB Group President argued that increasing financial flows is not all that is needed to solve the problems of the developing world and added that “knowledge-sharing and joint efforts at capacity-development of the beneficiaries are also important, which can be better achieved through enhanced, outcome-oriented collaboration. This is an effective way of helping the poorest of humanity to become self-reliant.” The conference, held from 29 November 2008 until 2 December 2008 in Qatar, is a follow up to the Monterrey Consensus of the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development to review the implementation of the Consensus.