WASHINGTON - The coronavirus pandemic may have driven as many as 100 million people back into extreme poverty, World Bank President David Malpass warned Thursday. World Bank President David Malpass speaks at a news conference during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, April 11, 2019. The World Bank has committed to deploying $160 billion to 100 countries through June 2021 in an effort to address the immediate emergency, but even so, extreme poverty, defined as earning less than $1.90 a day, continues to rise. "All of this contributes to pushing people back into extreme poverty the longer the economic crisis persists." Newly installed World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart called the economic crisis a "pandemic depression," but Malpass was less concerned with terminology.

Source: Ethiopian News August 21, 2020 00:22 UTC