ANI
14 Oct 2021, 06:07 GMT+10
Washington [US], October 14 (ANI/Xinhua): World Bank Group President David Malpass said on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing up poverty and debt levels in low-income countries, highlighting a "tragic reversal" in development.
"It's already pushed nearly 100 million people into extreme poverty. That's the added number in extreme poverty," Malpass said at a virtual press conference during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings.
"We're witnessing a tragic reversal in development. The progress in reducing extreme poverty has been set back by years - for some, by a decade," he continued.
Noting that inequality is worsening across country groups, Malpass said per capita income in advanced economies is growing nearly 5 percent in 2021, compared to only 0.5 percent in low-income countries.
"The outlook remains grim for most of the developing world. There's high inflation, there's too few jobs, there's shortages that extend to food, water, and electricity," he said, highlighting ongoing factory and port shutdowns, and the bottlenecks in logistics and supply chains.
In response to a question from Xinhua, the World Bank chief said that the backsliding on women, on children, and on the vulnerable are all tragic setbacks due to the pandemic and the global economic disruption.
"There needs to be a system of global international finance that is better suited toward people getting jobs in the poorest countries in order to reduce poverty," he said.
Malpass also stressed that many countries, especially the poor ones, are faced with debt challenges. In the International Debt Statistics released Monday, the World Bank estimated that debt burden in low-income countries rose by 12 percent to a record 860 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.
The report noted that even prior to the pandemic, many low- and middle-income countries were already in a vulnerable position, with slowing economic growth and public and external debt at elevated levels. External debt stocks of low- and middle-income countries combined rose 5.3 percent in 2020 to 8.7 trillion dollars.
Noting that many countries are in external debt distress or at high risk of it, Malpass told reporters that "we need a comprehensive approach, including debt reduction, swifter restructuring, and more transparency in order to make progress on this problem."In the 15 months ending in June 2021, the multilateral lender committed 157 billion dollars of financing to help countries in need, and "a chunk of it is in grants," according to Malpass. (ANI/Xinhua)Get a daily dose of Sports Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sports Sun.
More InformationFRESNO, California: Fresno State suspended two of its top men's basketball players last weekend and removed a third player from the...
(Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images) Victor Hedman and Jake Guentzel had two goals and one assist apiece as the Tampa...
(Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images) LeBron James scored 34 points on a milestone night and Luka Doncic added 30 points and...
(Photo credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images) Kevin Durant scored 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and the Phoenix Suns overcame...
(Photo credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images) Jared Spurgeon, Mats Zuccarello and Frederick Gaudreau each had a goal and an assist and...
(Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images) LeBron James scored 34 points on a milestone night and Luka Doncic added 30 points and...
(Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images) The New Orleans Saints released running back Jamaal Williams on Tuesday, reportedly...
(Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images) The Seattle Seahawks released offensive tackle George Fant, outside linebacker Dre'Mont...
(Photo credit: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) The 4 p.m. ET deadline came and went Tuesday with only...
(Photo credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images) Shedeur Sanders' status as the most polarizing prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft has been...
(Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images) The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and star Saquon Barkley have agreed to a...
(Photo credit: Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) The New York Jets have officially released Davante...