The UN estimates that there are 71 million more poor people in the world due to the collateral effects of the invasion of Ukraine

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July 7. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Some 71 million people around the world have fallen into poverty as a direct consequence of the rise in prices of basic food and energy as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The UN perceives that in these three months the impact in terms of poverty in developing countries has been more drastic than when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The domino effect of the war in Ukraine is a significant contributor to global inequality and is not yet over.

UNDP administrator Achim Steiner has warned that the “unprecedented” rise in prices will mean that many people already living on the edge can’t afford to buy products they used to check. The crisis, he added, is worsening conditions for millions of people “at breakneck speed.”

Of the 159 countries analyzed by the agency, the experts detect special repercussions in the Balkans, the Caspian Sea area and Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the Sahel, although they are not the only ones. Thus, they also fear repercussions in places as far away as Latin America, with Haiti as the spearhead.

UNDP is concerned about how far the poverty spiral can go if, for example, countries slip into recession and interest rates rise in response to inflation. Developing countries have already been suffering from this increase in interest rates and are dragging depleted fiscal reserves and high levels of debt.

“We are witnessing a growing divergence in the global economy that is alarming, as developing countries face the threat of being left behind as they struggle to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, undermining debt levels and accelerating the food and energy crisis,” said Steimer.

The UNDP, however, does not throw in the towel and believes that this “vicious circle” can be broken with “renewed international efforts”. These initiatives go through debt relief, maintaining supply chains and containing food and energy prices for “the world’s most marginalized communities,” in Steiner’s words.

However, the UNDP warns that betting on subsidies to, for example, reduce energy prices, can help in the short term but boost inequality in the long term and worsen the global climate emergency. Bet, instead, on “specific” transfers of money to those who may be affected.

Experts estimate that cash transfers go mainly to the poorest 40 percent of the population, while the universal energy subsidy tends to favor the richest 20 percent.