Tag: David Malpass

W’Bank Group reveals least developed nations’ debt hits $744bn in 2019

Omobayo Azeez
World Bank: COVID-19 to push over 100mn people into extreme poverty in 2020

The World Bank Group has again raised concerns over the bloating debt burden of the globe’s 73 least developed countries, which rose by 9.5 per cent to $744 billion at the end of 2019, from the previous year according to the latest edition of the International Debt Statistics (IDS) report. It is a response to an urgent need for greater debt transparency, a statement by the World Bank noted. The statement recalled that in response “to a call from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the G20 endorsed…

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World Bank: COVID-19 drags 115m more people into extreme poverty

Omobayo Azeez
World Bank: COVID-19 to push over 100mn people into extreme poverty in 2020

Eight out of 10 ‘new poor’ will be in middle-income countries _________________________________ Global extreme poverty is expected to rise in 2020 for the first time in over 20 years as the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic compounds the forces of conflict and climate change. Before the incursion of the pandemic, these factors were already slowing poverty reduction progress, the World Bank has said. The COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty this year, with the total rising to as many…

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COVID-19: World Bank earmarks $12bn to buy vaccine for poor countries

Banjo Olaniran

The World Bank has announced plans for a $12 billion coronavirus financing initiative that will help poor and developing countries purchase enough Covid-19 vaccine doses to treat up to 2 billion people as soon as they become available in the coming months. David Malpass, the World Bank president, disclosed this on Tuesday, adding that he was seeking board approval for the funds, in an attempt to ensure that low-income countries were not frozen out by wealthier nations. According to Reuters, Malpass in an exclusive interview disclosed that this financing initiative,…

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COVID-19’s Negative Impact on Health and Education May Last Decades

Banjo Olaniran

I would like to provide another update on some of the work underway at the World Bank Group to address the COVID-19 pandemic and other significant development challenges. The pandemic is hitting developing countries hard, and the inequality of that impact is clear. From declining remittances to the collapse of the formal and informal markets, the pandemic has disproportionately impacted the world’s poorest, especially women and children. It threatens to push over 100 million people into extreme poverty and is exacerbating inequality throughout the world. The negative impact on health…

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