This issue’s cover story looks at how the World Bank’s support for Covid-19 vaccination fails to address fundamental barriers to equitable access, as it scales up its efforts on this front.

The issue also includes an At Issue briefing by Bhumika Muchhala of Third World Network, which assesses how the call for SDRs reveals the urgency for deeper reforms of the global reserve system; a guest comment by Maju Varghese of the Center for Financial Accountability (Delhi), explaining the link between India’s controversial new farm laws and IMF & World Bank policy advice; and a guest analysis from Denisse Linares Suárez from Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR), outlining calls from Indigenous Peoples in Latin America for the World Bank to safeguard their rights.

Other stories in this issue cover:

·     Critical questions surrounding the World Bank’s commitment to invest $5 billion in the Great Green Wall initiative in Africa’s Sahelian region over the next five years;

·     A World Bank-backed water bill in Nigeria that sought to privatise water provision, and was abandoned after civil society opposition;

·     World Bank technical assistance and policy lending leading to natural gas lock-in in Jamaica;

·     The IMF’s new debt sustainability assessment criteria for market access countries;

·     The Independent Evaluation Office finding that the IMF’s advice on capital controls lacks ‘empirical support’

These and other stories are available on the Observer landing page.