World Bank: USD 45 bln allocated for global food security

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (KUNA) -- The World Bank Group said on Monday that efforts were expanded to achieve food security by providing USD 45 billion to address the food price inflation crisis in low-, middle-, high-income countries.

The World Bank provided USD 45 billion, USD 22 billion in new loans and USD 23 billion from existing portfolio.
The statement added that the Bank's food and nutrition security portfolio now spans across 90 countries, it includes short-term interventional activities such as expanding social protection and enhancing long-term resilience such as improving productivity and climate-sensitive agriculture.
The Bank's activities are expected to benefit 335 million people, about 44 percent of people who are facing nutrient deficiency. The World Bank said in its latest update on global food security that domestic food price inflation remain high with an inflation rate exceeding five percent in 63.1 percent of low-income countries, 73.9 percent of lower-middle-income countries, 48 percent of upper-middle-income countries and 46.3 percent of high-income countries.
The World Bank stated that it was to provide USD 30 billion over 15 months to address the crisis but it was exceeded and the World Bank has provided greater amounts and efforts to achieve food and nutrition security.
The statement added that the most affected countries are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.
Food price inflation exceeded the general inflation rate in 73 percent of the 165 countries for which data was available at the World Bank. (end) rsr.dss.