A wheat harvest complex, near Pullman, Wash. Preventing food insecurity globally amid soaring prices due to the war in Ukraine will be the main theme at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.
Ted S. Warren / AP
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Ted S. Warren / AP
A wheat harvest complex, near Pullman, Wash. Preventing food insecurity globally amid soaring prices due to the war in Ukraine will be the main theme at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.
Ted S. Warren / AP
WASHINGTON (AP) – Global financial leaders are putting the growing crisis over food insecurity and soaring food prices at the center as members of the International Monetary Fund and The World Bank meets in Washington and grapples with the devastating effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Finance Secretary Janet Yellen convened a meeting Tuesday morning with leaders from the IMF, World Bank, Group 7 and Group of 20 global institutions to “call on international financial institutions to speed up and strengthen their response” to countries affected by worsening food problems. Russian aggression, the Finance Ministry said.
Russia and Ukraine produce 14% of the world’s wheat supply, according to the United Nations, and the loss of the commodity to the war has led to soaring food prices and uncertainty about the future of food security across the world. globally, especially in poor countries.
According to the organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food price index posted its biggest jump since its inception in 1990, reflecting all-time high prices for vegetable oils, grains and meat. .
A report by the organization at the end of March said the number of undernourished people globally could increase from 8 million to 13 million by 2023, “with the most pronounced increase occurring in the Asia-Pacific region.” Ocean, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Near East and North Africa. If the war drags on, the impact will extend far beyond 2022/23.”
Anna Nagurney, a crisis management expert at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said Tuesday’s meeting of global leaders was important and “speaks to the growing fear and growing understanding that the world may be on the verge of a famine disaster.”
Nagurney predicts that countries that have not yet clearly supported Ukraine – such as China and India – will realize that food insecurity from a protracted war in Ukraine will affect stability. their own countries and the welfare of their citizens.
“This could further isolate Russia both morally and economically,” she said.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Monday that the international coalition of countries that impose sanctions on Russia and its allies takes the threat to food security very seriously.
“One of the things we have to do is take practical steps to demonstrate that this system is helping those who need it most,” which includes “focusing on countries that are struggling,” he said. in paying for things like their bread. people amid rising commodity prices.”
Russia is a member of the G-20, which includes representatives of industrialized and emerging market nations, but the Finance Ministry said the Russians would not participate in the session on food security.
