The coronavirus pandemic will push 60 Million people into ‘extreme Poverty’, warned World Bank Group President David Malpass during a conference call.
The World Bank chief warned on May 19 that the deadly virus and shutdown of advances economies would erase much of the recent measures taken in the field of poverty alleviation.
The World Bank Group (WBG) announced that its emergency operations in a bid to fight COVID-19 have reached 100 developing countries which is home to 70 percent of the world’s population. Announcing the large-scale reach, Malpass stated that the World Bank Group is taking quick and decisive measures to establish emergency response operations in 100 countries, with mechanisms that allow other donors to rapidly expand the programs.
Besides, its assistance marks a milestone in initiating the pledge to make available $160 billion in grants and financial support over a 15-month period in a bid to provide assidtance to developing countries. The Group added that 39 out of 100 countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa and nearly one-third of the total projects are in fragile and conflict-affected situations, such as Afghanistan, Chad, Haiti, and Niger.
Last month, the WBG had announced its plan to unveil a new multi-donor trust fund, to address public health crisis, and help developing countries to be better prepared for disease outbreaks. The new Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Multi-Donor Fund (HEPRF) will be additional assistance to the support of up to $160 billion of financing that it will provide for 15 months to support COVID-19 measures.
