Price spikes since March push 71m into poverty: UN
Friday, 8 July 2022
UNITED NATIONS, July 07 (AFP): Soaring global food and energy prices have forced 71 million people into poverty in the world's poorest countries, according to a United Nations Development Program report published Thursday.
The rise in the developing world's poverty rates over the past three months "is drastically faster than the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic," said the UNDP in a press release, blaming the price surges in part on the war in Ukraine.
To address the growing issue, the UNDP said "targeted cash transfers to households are more equitable and more cost-effective than blanket energy subsidies."