This year, David Miliband wrote that World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) summits “have little of the drama of peace negotiations” but that “for the poorest people in the world, the decisions made at these meetings are matters of life and death.”

Miliband’s words hold true as the institutions prepare for their annual meetings in Washington this week. As two finance experts recently put it, nearly 80 countries are at risk of or in debt distress, and “one global institution is absolutely crucial to making debt relief viable in the short term: the IMF.” Meanwhile, global poverty reduction—the World Bank’s stated goal—has stalled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and low growth.

This year, David Miliband........

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