The coronavirus pandemic may have driven as many as 100 million people back into extreme poverty, World Bank President David Malpass warned Thursday.

 

世界银行行长戴维·马尔帕斯8月20日警告说，新冠疫情或令1亿人重新陷入极端贫困。

 

The Washington-based development lender previously¹ estimated that 60 million people would fall into extreme poverty due to COVID-19, but the new estimate puts the deterioration² at 70 to 100 million, and he said "that number could go higher" if the pandemic worsens or drags on.

 

The situation makes it "imperative³" that creditors⁴ reduce the amount of debt held by poor countries at risk, going beyond the commitment to suspend debt payments, Malpass said in an interview with AFP.

 

Even so, more countries will be obliged to restructure their debt.

 

"The debt vulnerabilities are high, and the imperative of getting light at the end of the tunnel so that new investors⁵ can come in is substantial," Malpass said.

 

Advanced economies in the Group of 20 already have committed to suspending debt payments from the poorest nations through the end of the year, and there is growing support for extending that moratorium⁶ into next year amid a pandemic that’s killed nearly 800,000 people and sickened more than 25 million worldwide.

点击收听单词发音