NPR

Is Davos As Bad As Critics Say? Global Leaders Weigh In

Critics love to hate the World Economic Forum's annual meeting for elites. But people who work in global health and development say it has helped do some good.
A Davos sign sits atop a hotel roof ahead of this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The 50th Davos gathering ended on Friday. It's the annual meeting that critics love to hate. They say the World Economic Forum's event is just a forum for the rich and powerful to feel as if they're making a difference. And that their wheeling and dealing does not include input from the rest of world.

So does the conference actually do any good?

To explore the impact of the prestigious summit on world affairs, we interviewed more than half a dozen leaders in the field of global health, economic development and social justice and asked them to reflect on past efforts at Davos to improve the lives of those in low-income countries.

Although they acknowledged the summit's exclusivity and elitism, on the whole they say

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