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World Bank President David Malbus has said that the world is facing a “humanitarian catastrophe” due to the food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
If the crisis continues, millions of people will be pushed into poverty and malnutrition by rising food prices, David Malbus told the BBC.
The World Bank estimates that there will be a “sharp rise” in food prices by 37%.
The World Bank says this will greatly affect the poor, “causing them to eat less and have less money for expenses, including schooling.”
Malbus, who heads the World Bank for Global Poverty Alleviation, said in an interview with BBC economist Faisal Islam that the impact on the poor had “turned it into an unjustified crisis” and that this was also true in the case of the Govt epidemic.
“It’s a humanitarian catastrophe, a crisis that will push people toward malnutrition, but it will also become a political challenge for governments that can do nothing about it and have no cause for the crisis. .
He said the rise in prices had a profound and far-reaching impact, adding that “the crisis has affected the prices of all kinds of oils and grains, as well as the prices of other crops, including maize, which will rise as wheat prices rise.”
He said there was a world-wide supply of foodstuffs but there was a need for distribution or sales practices to take the food wherever it was needed.
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Moreover, he did not encourage mechanisms such as subsidizing production or controlling prices.
Instead, he said, there was a need to focus on increasing the global supply of fertilizers and food and to help the poorest people.
As food and energy prices continue to rise, the World Bank president has warned developing countries of a “crisis within crisis” over the inability to repay their large debts caused by the corona epidemic.
“There is a chance for this. It is happening now in some countries and it is not known how long this crisis will go on. More than 60 per cent of the poorest countries are currently either in a debt crisis or at high risk of getting into a debt crisis,” he said.
“We need to be concerned about the debt crisis. It is best for countries to start ways to reduce the debt burden as soon as possible. The more we fail to act on debt, the worse its consequences will be,” he said.
Faisal Islam, BBC Economic Editor – Analysis
It is noteworthy that the President of the World Bank has said that we should be concerned about the debt crisis of developing countries.
The combined crises of high debt, rising interest rates and rising prices caused by the epidemic are truly devastating.
At International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, rich countries told developing countries not to worry about borrowing to deal with the epidemic.
But now developing countries are wondering if these loans will be waived.
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