The World Bank and major non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are calling on leaders who will gather for next week’s Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Pittsburgh not to forget the needs of the world’s poorest countries, which have been severely affected by the last year’s financial crisis.
In a report released here Wednesday, the Bank said the global recession, whose repercussions are still being felt around the world, will have resulted in an additional 89 million people living in absolute poverty, or on less than $1.25 a day, by the end of next year.
World leaders at the G20 Summit in London in April. ? London Summit (flickr)”The reality is that as the world is showing signs of recovery, at least in affluent countries, low income countries simply do not have the fiscal space to implement countercyclical policies,” said Sam Worthington, president of InterAction, a coalition of U.S.-based international NGOs.
Moreover, nearly $12 billion in critical spending on basic needs and infrastructure of the world’s poorest people have been put at risk by the crisis, according to the 24-page report prepared by the Bank for the G20 meeting, which takes place Sep. 24-25.
“The poor and most vulnerable are at greatest risk from economic shocks – families are pushed into poverty, health conditions deteriorate, school attendance declines, and progress in other critical areas is stalled or reversed,” said Bank President Robert Zoellick.
