Food price reduction saves some 100 mln people from extreme poverty: UN
New Delhi: The Ukrainian grain export deal led to a reduction of food prices that prevented about 100 mln people from falling into extreme poverty, Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“The resumption of exports has significantly contributed to lower prices of wheat and other commodities. The FAO Food Index has declined for seven months in a row. According to our estimates based on the World Bank model, the reduction of prices for staple foods has indirectly prevented some 100 million people from falling into extreme poverty,” he pointed out.
As the war in Ukraine compounds with other crises, its impacts are revealing major weaknesses in global food and energy systems. Food insecurity was already on the rise before the outbreak of the war, with an estimated 44 million people at the brink of famine due to COVID-19, climate change and conflict.
In total, roughly 345 million people across 82 countries are facing acute food insecurity or high risk of it in 2022—almost 200 million more than before the pandemic.
According to the UN report, Energy poverty also remains pervasive, with much recent progress wiped out during COVID-19. As of 2020, 733 million people still lacked access to electricity. A whopping 2.4 billion people lack access to clean cooking, a driver of household air pollution that causes 3.2 premature deaths per year, mostly among women and children. And roughly 1 billion people are served by healthcare facilities that don’t have reliable electricity—meaning price hikes and service disruptions can compromise medical care.
(Vinayak)
