The World Bank hopes to raise $100 billion in donations for the International Development Association fund for poorer countries to address “tragic reversals in development” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,
Malpass said the multilateral development bank forecasts global growth of 5.7% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022, but said the worsening disparities between advanced economies and developing countries had set back efforts to reduce extreme poverty by year, and in some cases decades.
“Incoming high-frequency data points to slowing momentum in global activity, amid persistent supply chain bottlenecks and COVID-19 surges,” Malpass said.
“The outlook is challenging for much of the developing world, with lagging vaccination rates rising, inflation, limited policy support, too few jobs, and shortages that extend to food, water and electricity.”
Malpass said inequality was increasing dramatically, with per capita income in advanced economies expected to grow nearly 5% in 2021, but only 0.5% in low-income countries.
Malpass also called for efforts to address the unsustainable debt levels of many developing countries, noting that the debt burden of low-income nations rose 12% to a record $860 billion in 2020.