53m will remain trapped in poverty

About 53m people in developing countries will remain trapped poor because of the world economic slowdown, the World Bank has claimed.

The bank estimates that 40% of the world’s 107 developing countires are “highly exposed” to the global crisis. It also calls on the rich countires to devote 0.7% of their bail-out packages to help the poor in developing nations.

The global crisis is likely to keep 46 million people below the absolute poverty line of $1.25 per day, and another seven million under $2 per day, compared with the previous World Bank forecasts for 2009.

The World Bank says the crisis will also delay progress towards reducing infant mortality, which could see 200,000-400,000 more children a year die if the crisis persists. These developments will undermine the plans agreed by the UN to reach the world poverty targets agreed in the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The food and fuel price increases in 2008 pushed another 130-150 million poor people into poverty according to the World Bank. They also say that three-quarters of the developing countries most exposed to the crisis cannot raise the funds to deal with the current downturn.

The World Bank is proposing a “vulnerability fund” which would help by funding safety net programmes for the poor, ensuring that investments in vital infrastructure go ahead, and supporting small enterprises and banks.

For report on the World bank website, click here.