THE World Bank has warned that extreme poverty is rising rapidly in Nigeria.
It gave the warning in its latest report titled ‘Extreme Poverty is Rising Fast in Economies Hit by Conflict, Instability’ released on Friday, June 27.
The Bretton Woods financial institution listed Nigeria among 39 economies affected by conflict and instability, worsening hunger and pushing development goals further out of reach.
The report was based on its post-COVID assessment of fragile and conflict-affected states, including Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.
“These countries include both those experiencing active conflict and others facing deep instability,” the World Bank stated.
Nigeria faces increasing insecurity from banditry, kidnappings, and terrorism, mostly in the northern part of the country.
The recent insecurity situation was the killing of about 200 people in a fresh coordinated attack by suspected herdsmen on Yelewata and Daudu communities in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, The ICIR reported.
This widely condemned Benue incident adds to the many insecurity situations in the country that have left many homeless, farmers scared of going back to their farmlands and millions of properties destroyed.
In its findings, the World Bank stressed that economic conditions in these fragile states have continued to deteriorate since the pandemic, even as other developing economies begin to recover.
“Since 2020, their per capita GDP [gross domestic product] has shrunk by an average of 1.8 per cent per year, while expanding by 2.9 per cent in other developing economies.
“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,” it said.
It projected that the number is to rise to 435 million, or nearly 60 per cent of the world’s extreme poor, by 2030.
According to the international institution, while the global focus has largely been on Ukraine and the Middle East in recent years, Africa bears the brunt of the crisis.
“Yet, more than 70 per cent of people suffering from conflict and instability are Africans,” it noted.
Commenting, the World Bank Group’s Deputy Chief Economist and Director of the Prospects Group, Ayhan Kose, said, economic stagnation—rather than growth—has been the norm in economies hit by conflict and instability over the past decade and a half.
He suggested that for progress to be possible, the global community must pay greater attention to the plight of these economies.
“Jumpstarting growth and development here will not be easy, but it can be done—and it has been done before.
“With targeted policies and stronger international support, policymakers can prevent conflict, strengthen governance, accelerate growth, and create jobs,” Kose added.