WASHINGTON (AP) - The World Bank on Wednesday announced the first 23 poor countries selected for a fast track effort to give millions of children a chance at an education. Ghana was on the list.

But World Bank President James Wolfensohn said the effort will fail unless the United States and other wealthy countries come up with the $3 billion to $4 billion annually that the program needs to meet its goals.

Wolfensohn said he would make a personal appeal Friday and Saturday in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where finance ministers from the world's wealthiest countries and Russia will be holding meetings to prepare the agenda for the Group of Eight leaders' summit later this month.

The G-8 summit this year will focus on the fight against global terrorism and the poverty problems that serve as a breeding ground for terrorist groups.

"We're making an important start with these 23 countries," Wolfensohn said. "Now it is up to the G-8 and other donors to follow through and provide the financing necessary to make this education fast track work."

The 23 countries include 18 nations that will qualify immediately for money to expand schooling and five that will be in line for aid once they have approved programs in place.

The 18 countries judged ready for increased assistance now include nations in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. They have a total of 17 million children not in school.

The five nations in line for money after adopting approved programs are countries with the largest populations not in school: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Republic of Congo and Nigeria, with a total of 50 million children not in school.

Wolfensohn appeared with education ministers from Gambia, Ghana and Ethiopia, as well as various international aid advocates. All called on the G-8 to fund the new program.

Phil Twyford, global advocacy director for Oxfam International, said Germany is the only G-8 country that has said it will provide money for the fast track program. Among other wealthy countries, only the Netherlands and Norway have made actual pledges.

"Memo to finance ministers: Don't blow it; 125 million children need you to get this right," Twyford said.

Gene Sperling, former President Clinton ( news - web sites)'s chief White House economic adviser and now head of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations, said he's hopeful that wealthy countries will be generous to build on the success of the debt forgiveness effort the G-8 approved at its 1999 summit in Cologne, Germany.

The World Bank has estimated that the G-8 and other wealthy donor countries will need to commit between $3 billion and $4 billion annually in additional foreign aid over the next 10 years to achieve the goal of universal primary education in the developing world by the year 2015.

Estimates of the number of children in poor nations who have never attended school range as high as 125 million, about two-thirds of them girls.

To qualify for education financing under the fast track program, Wolfensohn said countries must adopt policies that improve the quality and efficiency of their primary education programs.

The 18 countries eligible for immediate support once funding becomes available are Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Albania, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Vietnam, Guinea, Ethiopia and Yemen.

Wolfensohn said the World Bank will work with the five other countries in the initial group of 23 to resolve the problems blocking their receipt of education financing.