The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday that around 9,000 million euros “are a far cry” from what is needed to end the food security crisis in the world, to which “48 countries” are exposed.
The statement was made by the director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, during a food security forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she recalled that humanitarian organizations estimate that more than 50 billion dollars (almost 51 billion euros) are needed. “only to prevent people from dying of hunger”.
The IMF has identified three ways to address the crisis, which are reversing agricultural productivity, protecting the product so that it reaches the consumer, and countries gaining the financial capacity to access low-cost financing.
“It’s the biggest problem with a solution”, assured Georgieva, for whom “this crisis is a wake-up call for all of us, as a community, to help solve the problem”.
In this regard, she highlighted that the IMF’s priorities are to “help countries develop correct policies”, increase fiscal space and develop “climate-resilient” agriculture.
“This year we have seen in India, Europe and the US a significant reduction in agricultural production due to weather events,” she recalled.
Therefore, she added that hunger does not only have a physical impact on people, but also on their “loss of dignity”.
“And there is a loss of intellectual capacity. Malnourished children never reach their full potential. We are and lose it because of hunger, ”she lamented.
The IMF director also recalled that more than 40 million people in the Arab world alone are exposed to hunger and thanked the Arab Coordination Group for its recent announcement of a donation of 10 billion dollars (10.2 billion euros) to alleviate the global food supply crisis.
