UN: “Food and energy crisis has greater impact on poverty than corona pandemic” | Abroad

The Development Program examined the effects of the current crisis in 159 countries. The situation is said to be alarming, especially in parts of the Balkans and in countries around the Caspian Sea and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The challenges these countries face cannot be solved without outside support, UNDP said. “The international community must make an effort to pull affected countries out of this vicious economic cycle and ensure they have access to affordable food and energy,” said UNDP head Achim Steiner.

“For many people worldwide, the unprecedented price increases mean that the food they could afford yesterday is no longer available today,” Steiner continues. “The crisis is rapidly pushing millions of people into poverty and even famine, increasing the risk of social unrest every day.”
Several countries have already tried to mitigate the worst effects of the crisis with tax cuts or energy subsidies, but according to the UNDP, these measures will only lead to more inequality in the long term.

For example, rich people in particular would benefit from energy subsidies. The Development Program therefore recommends transferring money to those who need it. “Our model shows that even very modest money transfers can have a profound stabilizing effect on the poorest and most vulnerable in this crisis,” said George Gray Molina, who contributed to the research report.

In order to free up the necessary funds, a two-year moratorium on official government debt should be considered for all developing countries, regardless of their gross domestic product, the UNDP said. In this way the worst perils are avoided, according to Molina.