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1.7B people face ‘perfect storm’ from Russia-Ukraine war: UN
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UN Secretary-General says the war has set off a three-dimensional “perfect storm” of food, energy and finance crises that could affect up to 1.7 billion poor people
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Most of the 107 countries that will suffer are in Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, a UN report says
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UN calls for urgent, concrete and coordinated action to help the most at risk countries through flexible and sufficient funding
The Russia-Ukraine war has started a three-dimensional crisis on food, energy and finance that threatens about 1.7 billion people mostly in developing economies battered by COVID-19 and climate change, new findings of the United Nations said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the conflict a trigger of a “perfect storm” at the release on April 13 of the Global Crisis Response Group’s report on the Russia-Ukraine war’s impact.
Preliminary analysis suggests up to 1.7 billion people in 107 economies are exposed to at least one of the three risks, the GCRG said. They’re mostly in Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of developing countries,” said Guterres in a statement.
Russia and Ukraine supply about around 30% of the world’s wheat and barley. Russia is the top natural gas exporter, second-largest oil exporter and a significant fertilizer supplier.
“The people of Ukraine cannot bear the violence being inflicted on them. And the most vulnerable people around the globe cannot become collateral damage in yet another disaster for which they bear no responsibility,” he said.
The Secretary-General called for urgent, concrete and coordinated action to help countries and communities most at risk avert the interlinked crises. “We can do something about this three-dimensional crisis. We have the capacity to cushion the blow,” he stressed.
The Russia-Ukraine war has severely affected food, energy and financial markets, sending commodity prices soaring to record highs. The global economy is forecast to contract by 1% in 2022.
When combined with the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change, exposure to just one risk is dire enough to cause debt distress, food shortages and blackouts, the report said.
GCRG was established by the Secretary-General and its steering committee is headed by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. Its goal is to help vulnerable countries avert large-scale crises through high-level coordination and partnerships, urgent action, and access to critical data, analysis and policy recommendations.
The development of the April 13 brief, the first in a series, was coordinated by UN Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.
The brief proposes immediate to longer-term recommendations to avert and respond to the triple crisis, including the need to keep markets and trade open to ensure the availability of food, agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and energy.
It calls for international financial institutions to urgently release funding for countries exposed to the most risk while ensuring there are enough resources to build long-term resilience to such shocks.
The brief urges prompt provision of funds for humanitarian food assistance. It said food producers, who face higher input and transport costs, urgently need support for the next growing season.
On energy, the brief calls on governments to use strategic stockpiles and additional reserves to help to ease this energy crisis in the short term. More importantly, the world needs to accelerate deployment of renewable energy, it said.
“Now is also the time to turn this crisis into an opportunity. We must work towards progressively phasing out coal and other fossil fuels, and accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and a just transition,” Guterres added.
The brief asks the international financial system, including G20 countries and development banks, to provide flexible, urgent, and sufficient funding for particularly least developed countries, and relief from debt servicing under current conditions.
“We need to pull developing countries back from the financial brink. The international financial system has deep pockets,” said Guterres, asking that funds be made available to “economies that need them most so that governments can avoid default, safety nets for the poorest and most vulnerable, and continue to make critical investments in sustainable development.”
“Above all, this war must end. We need to silence the guns and accelerate negotiations towards peace, now,” he added.
