The world’s 26 poorest countries, home to 40% of the poorest people, have more debt than at any time since 2006 and are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters and other shocks, a new World Bank report showed on Sunday.
The report shows that these economies are poorer on average today than they were on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the rest of the world has largely recovered from COVID and resumed its growth trajectory.
The report, which launches a week before the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, confirms a major setback in efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and underlines the World Bank’s efforts this year to raise $100 billion to replenish its financing fund for the world’s poorest. countries, the International Development Association (IDA).
