The World Bank has identified Nigeria as one of 39 countries where poverty and hunger are worsening as a result of conflict and instability.
In a report released on Friday, the bank stated that the affected economies, which include both low- and middle-income nations, “span all global regions.”
Among the countries listed are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.
The report, which examines “the economic impact of conflict and fragility in ...-COVID-19 era,” disclosed that 21 of the 39 countries are currently experiencing active conflict.
According to the report’s findings, “extreme poverty is rising more rapidly in these countries,” leading to serious setbacks in economic development, worsening hunger, and undermining progress toward critical development targets.
The bank noted that since 2020, “the average per capita GDP of these economies has declined by 1.8 per cent annually,” compared to “a 2.9 per cent growth rate recorded in other developing countries.”
The report partly reads: “This year, 421 million people are struggling on less than $3 a day in economies afflicted by conflict or instability—more than in the rest of the world combined.
“That number is projected to rise to 435 million, or nearly 60% of the world’s extreme poor, by 2030.”