Russia’s war in Ukraine, the coronavirus pandemic and climate change are putting intense pressure on the world’s poorest, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned on Monday.
The Paris-based body reported that 60 states, territories and places fell last year into the category of “fragile context” — that is, they suffer from economic, environmental, social and political circumstances which they are unable to absorb.
And that was before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yesterday’s report is the one that designates the most countries in such a crisis situation since the OECD began releasing them in 2015.
The 60 affected places cover 24% of the world’s population, 73% of those living in extreme poverty, 80% of those who have died in conflict and the vast majority of places affected by hunger.
They are also where 95% of the 274 million people who, according to the UN, need humanitarian assistance live. “We are in an era defined by multiple crises, shocks and uncertainty,” the OECD declared.