The Covid-19 crisis could push an additional 100 million people into extreme poverty around the world, even more than previously estimated, World Bank President David Malpass warned Thursday in an interview with AFP.
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The institution estimates that 70 to 100 million people could fall into extreme poverty, and " that number could increase " if the pandemic worsens or lasts, he said. A previous estimate was 60 million people.
This makes it " imperative " for creditors to reduce the debt of poor countries, said David Malpass, going beyond calls to extend the moratorium on the debt of the poorest countries. However, more countries will have to restructure their debt.
“ Debt vulnerabilities are high, and it is imperative (for indebted countries) to see the light at the end of the tunnel so that new investors can come, ” added the President of the World Bank.
The G20 countries decided in April to suspend the debt repayments of the poorest countries until the end of 2020. NGOs but also the World Bank are calling for this moratorium, which concerns 76 countries, to be extended until 2021. The G20 countries will vote by October, the date of their next meeting.
But that will not be enough, says David Malpass, because the economic downturn means that these countries, which already struggle to provide a social safety net to their citizens, will find it difficult to honor these payments. The amount of debt reduction should depend on the situation in each country, he said. The institution has deployed $ 160 billion in emergency aid to around 100 states.
In 2015, the most recent estimate given on the World Bank website, some 734 million people were already living in extreme poverty, or about 10% of the world's population. But extreme poverty - that is, living on less than $ 1.90 a day - has continued to increase since the start of the pandemic.
This deterioration is due to the combination of job losses during the pandemic as well as supply difficulties, which complicate access to food. " All of this contributes to throwing people into extreme poverty, " as long as the crisis persists, warned David Malpass.
