Inflation Has Pushed 71 Million People Into Poverty Since Russia-Ukraine War, Says UN Report
Around 71 million people worldwide are experiencing poverty due to soaring food and energy prices driven by Russia＊s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned in a new report.
Around 71 million people worldwide are experiencing poverty due to soaring food and energy prices driven by Russia＊s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned in a new report. Yesterday at the launch of the report, Achim Steiner, the UNDP administrator, said that an analysis of 159 developing countries showed that the surge in crucial commodity prices this year was already hitting parts of Africa, the Balkans, Asia and elsewhere hard, as per Al Jazeera. The report focused on addressing the cost of living crisis in developing countries. It estimated that 51.6 million more people fell into poverty in the first three months after the war, living off $1.90 a day or less. This pushed the total number globally at this threshold to 9 percent of the world＊s population. An additional 20 million people slipped to the poverty line of $3.20 a day. |
Reuters
The UNDP noted that 125 million people experienced poverty over about 18 months during the pandemic＊s lockdowns and closures, compared with more than 71 million in just three months after the Russia-Ukraine war.
※This will have immediate and devastating effects on household welfare 每 with those in poverty and near-poverty typically hit hardest due to their higher energy and food budget share 每 posing significant policy challenges to governments during the response,§ the report said.
The war in Ukraine has severely disrupted global markets for food and energy due to both countries＊ large global market shares.
Among those countries likely facing high poverty impacts across all poverty lines are Armenia and Uzbekistan in the Caspian Basin; Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Sudan in Africa; Haiti in Latin America; and Pakistan and Sri Lanka in South Asia, it noted.
The economic woes are increasing protests in many countries as they are struggling to meet their debt repayment obligations. More than half of the world＊s poorest countries are in debt distress or at high risk of it, according to the UN.
In low-income countries, families spend 42% of their household incomes on food but as Western nations put sanctions on Russia, the price of fuel and staple food items like wheat, sugar, and cooking oil soared.
thetimesofisrael
Also Read: Tesla Will Pay At Least Three Months' Salary Of Ukrainian Employees Asked To Fight Russia War
Before the war began on February 24, Russia was the world＊s largest and second-biggest exporter of natural gas and crude oil. Russia and Ukraine together accounted for almost a quarter of global wheat exports, 14 percent of corn exports, and more than half of sunflower oil exports, as per Al Jazeera report.
Ukraine＊s blocked ports and inability to export grains to low-income countries seem to have further driven up prices, pushing tens of millions into poverty and economic crisis.
※The cost of living impact is almost without precedent in a generation ＃ and that is why it is so serious,§ UN's Steiner said.
The speed at which this many people experienced poverty outpaced the economic pain felt at the peak of the pandemic, he added.
※The speed of this is very quick,§ said George Molina, UNDP chief economist and author of the report.
※This cost-of-living crisis is tipping millions of people into poverty and even starvation at breath-taking speed,§ Steiner said, as per Al Jazeera.
For more of the latest financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here
