Skyrocketing prices: over 70 million people pushed into poverty in three months
The most critical states are in the Balkans, the Caspian Sea region and sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Sahel.
Soaring food and energy prices around the world have pushed 71 million people living in low-income countries into poverty since March and in just three months, says Program report (UNDP) published on Thursday.
This acceleration of poverty is considerably faster than the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, notes the UNDP in a press release , which partly blames the war in Ukraine for the soaring prices, which Russia denies.
According to the UN Programme, targeted cash transfers to households are fairer and more cost effective than general energy subsidies. At the same time, UNDP considers that the countries concerned will need support from the multilateral system to make ends meet.
As interest rates rise In response to soaring inflation, there is a risk of triggering new recession-induced poverty that will further exacerbate the crisis, accelerating and deepening poverty around the world, UNDP also warns in its report. /p>
The document looked at 159 countries. The most critical states are in the Balkans, the Caspian Sea region and sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the Sahel.
Unprecedented price spikes mean that for many people around the world, the food they could afford yesterday is no longer accessible today, regrets in the press release the boss of the UNDP, Achim Steiner.
This cost of living crisis is pushing millions of people into poverty at the risk of starvation with breathtaking speed. At the same time, the threat of increased social unrest is growing day by day, he said.
Among the countries facing the most dramatic consequences of the rising prices include Armenia, Uzbekistan, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Haiti, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania or Yemen.
