The International Monetary Fund committed $3.7 billion as of March 2023 to address the global food crisis.
The IMF disclosed this in its recent report titled ‘Global Food Crisis Update—Recent Developments, Outlook, and IMF Engagement’, released on Wednesday.
The Washington-based bank said countries suffering from the food crisis had received $13.2 billion since February 2022.
IMF attributed the food price hike to the 2022 February Russia-Ukraine war and post-pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions.
According to the bank, the effects of the global food crisis have been compounded by the persistent impact of conflicts and devastating climate-related events in several fragile and conflict-affected states (FCSs), including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.
IMF data aligns with the World Food Program’s latest report, which stated that in 2023, 345 million people across 79 countries are expected to face acute food insecurity, an all-time high and more than twice the number for 2020.
“New commitments to countries particularly affected by the global food crisis total $13.2 billion since February 2022, of which $3.7 billion has been disbursed as of March 2023”, the report stated.
