Risk of hunger, poverty higher due to slow economic growth: IMF

IMF head said persistently high interest rates, a series of bank failures in the US and Europe, and deepening geopolitical divisions are threatening global financial stability.

Low-income countries are expected to suffer a double shock from high borrowing costs and a decline in demand for their exports.

The world economy is expected to grow less than 3 percent this year, down from 3.4 percent last year, increasing the risk of hunger and poverty globally, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday that growth is expected to remain about 3 percent for the next five years, calling it “our lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990”, adding that it would be a “severe blow” making it even harder for low-income nations to catch up.

Poverty and hunger could further increase, a dangerous trend that was started by the COVID crisis,” she said.

Georgieva’s comments came in advance of next week’s meetings of the IMF and its sister lending agency, the World Bank, where policymakers will convene to discuss the global economy’s most pressing issues.

Source: Aljazeera