April 27, 2009 - 1:53am
On Sunday finance and aid ministers from the 185 member countries of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund called on rich states to provide aid to the poorer states as more nations are plunging into the poverty falling victims to the financial crisis. The ministers also said that it might be necessary to raise more resources for the World Bank if the economic turmoil aggravates.
The ministers also noted that the economic downturn the worst since the Great Depression risked diminishing objectives of the UN to overcome poverty by 2015. World Bank President Robert Zoellick also said that most of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals on poverty, hunger, education, equality, disease and infant mortality will unlikely be achieved in the near future.
According to Zoellick’s statement the World Bank is well capitalized and he proposed the plan to increase lending to middle-income countries by up to $100 billion over three years. His proposal was welcomed by the ministers who also called on the Bank to ascertain if it has enough resources to aid poorest nations.
Earlier the World Bank reported that developing nations faced a financing gap of between $270 billion to $700 billion. The Bank reminded the rich donors that they promised to increase aid to the poorest in 2005.
Besides, the World Bank also forecast that the economic growth in low- and middle-income countries will decrease from 5.8% to 2.1%. It also added that food and fuel price increases between 2005 and 2008 pushed between 160 million and 200 million more people into extreme poverty, and about half of them will remain poor in 2009 even as prices recede from their peaks.
Recent World Bank analysis also suggests that the current crisis will result in 53 million more people living in extreme poverty in 2009, or 65 million more if a $2 a day measure is used. It said 200,000-400,000 more infants will die each year.
The ministers also noted that the economic downturn the worst since the Great Depression risked diminishing objectives of the UN to overcome poverty by 2015. World Bank President Robert Zoellick also said that most of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals on poverty, hunger, education, equality, disease and infant mortality will unlikely be achieved in the near future.
According to Zoellick’s statement the World Bank is well capitalized and he proposed the plan to increase lending to middle-income countries by up to $100 billion over three years. His proposal was welcomed by the ministers who also called on the Bank to ascertain if it has enough resources to aid poorest nations.
Earlier the World Bank reported that developing nations faced a financing gap of between $270 billion to $700 billion. The Bank reminded the rich donors that they promised to increase aid to the poorest in 2005.
Besides, the World Bank also forecast that the economic growth in low- and middle-income countries will decrease from 5.8% to 2.1%. It also added that food and fuel price increases between 2005 and 2008 pushed between 160 million and 200 million more people into extreme poverty, and about half of them will remain poor in 2009 even as prices recede from their peaks.
Recent World Bank analysis also suggests that the current crisis will result in 53 million more people living in extreme poverty in 2009, or 65 million more if a $2 a day measure is used. It said 200,000-400,000 more infants will die each year.