The World Bank announced on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, that an additional $12 billion in funding to mitigate the “devastating effects” of severe growing global food insecurity.

According to the World Bank, the additional fund is due to climate change and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine invasion. The move, which will bring total available funding for projects over the next 15 months to $30 billion, was unveiled hours before the start of a major United Nations (UN) meeting on global food security.

Amid the growing shortages, intensified by the war in Ukraine, which is a key grain producer, the World Bank said the new funding will help boost food and fertilizer production, facilitate greater trade and support vulnerable households and producers.

World Bank President, David Malpass, noted in a statement that “Food price increases are having devastating effects on the poorest and most vulnerable”, adding that “It is critical that countries make clear statements now of future output increases in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.

What was the Initial Plan?

The Bank previously announced a sum of $18.7 billion in funding for projects linked to “food and nutrition security issues” for Africa and the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as South Asia.

However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid international economic sanctions on Moscow disrupted the supplies of fertilizer, wheat and other commodities from both countries (Ukraine and Russia), pushing up prices for food and fuel, especially in developing nations. India, on Saturday, May 14, 2022, banned wheat exports, and this has caused the price of the grain to soar.

Mr. Malpass, in his statement, after drawing inference from India’s supply cut, called for a collective effort to find lasting solutions to the cut in global supply.

“Countries should make concerted efforts to increase the supply of energy and fertilizer, help farmers increase plantings and crop yields, and remove policies that block exports and imports, divert food to biofuel, or encourage unnecessary storage.”
World Bank President, David Malpass

Ukraine-Russia a Latest Shock

Washington however welcomed the World Bank’s decision, which is part of a joint action plan by multilateral lenders and Regional Development Banks (RDB) to address the food crisis.

Four institutions in total make up the RDB. They are African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The Treasury Department said, “The Russian war against Ukraine is the latest global shock that is exacerbating the sharp increase in both acute and chronic food insecurity in recent years driven by conflict, climate change and economic downturns, such as those associated with the Covid-19 pandemic”, while it applauded the institutions for working swiftly to address the global issues.

But experts on the other hand have warned that the situation will only grow worse because of the Ukrainian war, as Russia and Ukraine alone produced 30 percent of the global wheat supply.

An Upcoming Meeting

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is expected to chair a meeting in New York on global food security. India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Vellamvelly Muraleedharan, will also participate in the meeting.

Ahead of the meeting, Washington’s UN Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on Monday, May 16, 2022, urged New Delhi to revoke the ban announced on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in the face of falling production, which is caused primarily by an extreme heatwave. She said the upcoming Wednesday’s (May 18, 2022) session aims to “bring countries together to look at what countries might be able to help fill the gap” in wheat supplies caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But an earlier report suggested that food insecurity began to spike even before Moscow’s invasion commenced on Thursday, February 24, 2022. UN data also revealed that 193 million people in 53 countries as of last year (2021) were acutely food insecure, meaning they needed urgent assistance to survive.