World Bank Group announces that 60 million people could fall into extreme poverty due to Covid-19 pandemic

The World Bank Group has announced that 60 million people could fall into extreme poverty due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The ongoing crisis will erase almost all the progress made in the last five years. The World Bank estimates that 40 million to 60 million people will fall into extreme poverty (under $1.90/day) in 2020, compared to 2019, as a result of COVID-19, depending on assumptions on the magnitude of the economic shock.

According to the organization, due to global shocks such as COVID-19 and because it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach those remaining in extreme poverty, who often live in fragile countries and remote areas, poverty reduction may not be fast enough to reach the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.