A “human catastrophe” is looming, according to World Bank President David Malpass, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Because they will “eat less, and have less money for anything else, such as schooling,” he said, the poorest people in the world will bear the brunt of the food crisis.
There is enough food in the world to feed everyone, Malpass said in an interview with BBC economics editor Faisal Islam. As food and energy prices rise, the inability of developing countries to service their large pandemic debts may cause a “crisis within a crisis.”
“Up to 60% of the poorest countries are either in debt distress or at risk of debt distress,” he said.
He advised countries, particularly those with unsustainable debt, to act early on strategies to reduce their debt burden.
