Ahead of a World Bank conference scheduled for later this year, African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations.

The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.

At a meeting in Japan in December, donors will promise to give money to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that gives loans with low-interest rates and long terms.

“We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion,” Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.

African economies were facing a “deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said.

He talked about the terrible floods in Kenya and the serious drought in Southern African countries like Malawi. If donors promise the least amount that African leaders have asked for, it will be a new high.

The previous high was $93 billion, which was raised in 2021. IDA loans are given out every three years, and donors usually give their money at a world meeting before the loan is given out.

The World Bank said that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, promised to cut down on the “burdensome” rules that guide lending to countries under the IDA. This would make the process more efficient and get money to countries that need it more quickly.

“We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make a meaningful impact,” he said.