The warning signaled a deeper pessimism among economists about the scale and duration of the fall from what banks call an “unprecedented crisis.”
The World Bank, which provides loans and grants to the governments of poor countries,
predicted a month ago that this year would mark a historic step back for inequality, with a pandemic “likely to lead to the first increase in global poverty since 1998.”
It said in a blog post on April 20 that “
best estimate ” is that 49 million people will be forced into extreme poverty, which by definition banks have to live on less than $ 1.90 per day.
The deteriorating outlook is caused by the spread of economic activity and “erasing much of the recent progress in poverty alleviation,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement.
The recent surge in cases in several countries has also forced banks to implement what they consider to be the “biggest and fastest crisis response” ever. It said emergency relief efforts had reached 100 developing countries, which are home to 70% of the world’s population.
The World Bank aims to help vulnerable people by giving grants and loans to individuals and businesses, and defer debt payments to some of the world’s poorest countries. Overall, it’s been promised at the very least
$ 160 billion to combat the virus so far.
Some of the poorest people in the world have begun to feel the pain.
Migrant workers around the world lost their jobs because the pandemic stopped working in various industries. As a result, the World Bank estimates that global remittances, or money sent home to families, could drop 20%, or around $ 100 billion, this year.
Tens of millions of people in Africa may become poor as a result of the crisis, human rights leaders warned Wednesday.
“We cannot stand by and hope that this most virulent and deadly disease passes through Africa, which is home to many of the poorest countries in the world who are not in a position to handle such a pandemic,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and Chair of the Commission Africa for Human Rights and Society Solomon Dersso said in a joint statement.
The World Bank
said last month that it expected people in sub-Saharan Africa to suffer the most. At present, 39 of the 100 World Bank targeted countries are there, and at least 23 million residents in the region
projected to go to the extreme
poverty due to coronavirus outbreaks.
South Asia also tends to suffer. In addition to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, World Bank economists
the word last month that India, one of the most populous countries in the world, was estimated to see “the biggest change in the number of poor people,” with around 12 million affected.
“The place where the virus takes the highest casualties depends mainly on two factors,” wrote analysts at the bank
blog post. “The impact of the virus on economic activity and … the number of people living close to the international poverty line.”
– Sarah Dean from CNN contributed to this report.
