The World Bank Group (WB) President David Malpass warned Monday in Washington D.C. about the risks to developing countries from the Covid-19 pandemic, runaway inflation and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
“I’m deeply concerned about developing countries. They’re facing sudden price increases for energy, fertilizer, and food, and the likelihood of interest rate increases. Each one hits them hard,” Malpass said in a speech at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in the U.S. capital.
“These, plus the war in Ukraine and China’s COVID-related shutdowns, are pushing global growth rates even lower and poverty rates higher,” the head of the Bretton Woods institution noted.
Malpass said that the World Bank has lowered its growth forecast for the global economy in 2022 from 4.1% to 3.2%.
Referring to the food shortage resulting from the war in Ukraine, Malpass stressed that “food crises are bad for everyone, but they’re devastating for the poorest and most vulnerable.”
There are two reasons for this, he explained. First, the world’s poorest countries tend to be food-importing countries. Second, food accounts for at least half of total expenditures in household budgets in low-income countries, so it hits them hardest.
In this regard, Malpass urged countries to take immediate steps to encourage the production of food, energy, and fertilizer.
“The production chain needs all three. It’s vital for countries, both advanced and developing, to reduce their trade barriers,” he said.
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