KYIV, April 20 – Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered major threats to global food and nutrition security, and if food prices stay this high for a year, global poverty could go up by more than 100 million, World Bank Group President David Malpass said at the U.S. Treasury's event on "Tackling Food Insecurity: The Challenge And Call To Action."

Let me say a few words about our response. We expect to launch an overall surge in our financial support in coming weeks. Funding for food security will be an important component," he said.

Our package of support - including Ukraine, countries hosting refugees, and developing economies suffering collateral economic shocks - is in the range of $50 billion dollars in the current quarter of 2022 and should reach about $170 billion in the 15 months through June 2023," Malpass said.

He said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered major threats to global food and nutrition security. In the near-term, there has been a pronounced spike in the prices of key food staples, including wheat and wheat substitutes. Second, future harvests may be reduced due to higher energy and fertilizer prices.

Malpass said that global food and fertilizer prices were already on the rise prior to the war. Food and nutrition insecurity were also rising, he said. The reasons are many, including: growing demand, combined with supply chain disruptions, currency devaluations, climate change impacts, and a rise in fragility and conflict.

The deepening of the crisis in the last two months is directly linked to the terrible war being waged by Russia on Ukraine, and the costly financial, shipping, and logistical hurdles now faced by agribusinesses and importers," Malpass said. (om/ez)