Third, it promotes investment of public and private capital for development. Fourth, the bank assists in organizing the development policies of RMCs. The AfDB is also required to give special attention to national and multinational projects which are needed to promote regional integration. Status The AfDB promotes economic development and social progress of its RMCs in Africa and the bank commits approximately $3 billion annually to African countries. Its relatively small lending and tendency to follow in the footsteps of more prominent public institutions like the World Bank, implies that the African Development Bank has been receiving little interest from civil society organizations as well as academia. AfDB emphasizes the role of women along with education reforms, and lent its support to key initiatives such as debt alleviation for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The Bank is currently based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast again. It employs approximately 1,865 employees as of 2016, and has 80 members: 54 countries in Africa and 26 American, European, and Asian countries. Recent trends and directions One of emerging views, repeatedly cited by the AfDB's Board of Directors and management, is that the AfDB should be more “selective” and “country-focused” in its operations. Though this policy has still to be clearly defined, it appears to be driving certain lending priorities. The infrastructure sector, including power supply, water and sanitation, transport and communications, has traditionally received the largest share of AfDB lending. This focus was re-affirmed in the AfDB's 2003-2007 Strategic Plan, which identified infrastructure as a priority area for AfDB lending. In 2005, the AfDB approved 23 infrastructure projects for approximately $982 million, which totaled 40 percent of AfDB approvals that year. Given the increased attention to infrastructure development in Africa from donors and borrowers, it is likely that AfDB's infrastructure lending will increase significantly in the coming years. In 2007, infrastructure operations accounted for approximately 60 percent of the bank's portfolio. Regional integration infrastructure projects will be a key part of the AfDB's future business. According to the AfDB's 2005 Annual Report, regional economic blocs will make Africa “more competitive in the global market”, while transport and power interconnections between smaller African economies will help create larger markets in the continent. The AfDB's member countries claim that AfDB, as a multilateral institution, is particularly suited to support regional integration projects. The AfDB has been designated the lead