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UNITED NATIONS. – Poor countries face economic ruin from simultaneous crises of food, energy and finance due to supply disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday.
Russia is the world’s top exporter of combined oil and gas, and Russia and Ukraine are both major producers of grain, together accounting for around a third of global exports. World commodity prices have hit records, hurting countries that rely on imports.
“The war is supercharging a three-dimensional crisis – food, energy and finance – that is pummeling some of the world’s most vulnerable people, countries and economies,” Guterres told reporters, releasing a report by a crisis task force he created shortly after Russia’s invasion began on February 24.
“We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries.”
Up to 1.7 billion people – a third already living in poverty – have been left “highly exposed” to food, energy and finance disruptions, which are triggering increases in poverty and hunger, Guterres said. – Reuters
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