‘Perfect storm’ threatens economic devastation in developing world

(United Nations News) Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine is causing immense suffering and devastation there, but also creating a “perfect storm” which could devastate the economies of “many developing countries”, the UN chief warned on Wednesday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres was speaking in Sweden alongside Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, where he is attending the Stockholm+50 conference, which he described as “a crucial opportunity to bolster our response to the triple planetary emergency of climate disruption, pollution and biodiversity loss.”

Mr. Guterres said the UN remained “intensely focused on practical steps to save lives and reduce human suffering” inside Ukraine, including maintaining humanitarian corridors, but for many developing countries, the climate crisis, growing debt and economic insecurity, were now compounded by “ballooning energy costs and growing hunger”, due to the war that is crippling Ukraine’s food exports.

A perfect storm is threatening to devastate the economies of many developing countries, he said.

He called for “quick and decisive action to ensure a steady flow of food and energy in open markets, by lifting export restrictions, allocating surpluses and reserves to vulnerable populations, and addressing food price increases to calm market volatility.”

But there would be no solution, without bringing Ukraine’s food production back into the global market, alongside food and fertiliser from Russia.

Read more at: United Nations

Source: CARICOM TODAY