It is estimated that by 2030, the population of the 'extreme poverty' category may exceed 435 million
The World Bank has released a new study report and has given a serious warning that the problem of poverty is worsening due to recurring conflicts and instability around the world.
According to the report, since the beginning of the 2000s, conflicts and the loss of human resources have tripled. Due to this, the situation of extreme poverty and food crisis is getting deeper in the insecure and conflict-affected countries.
This year alone, more than 420 million people are living on an income of less than three US dollars a day, a situation that the World Bank defines as 'extreme poverty.'
The chief economist of the World Bank Group, Indermit Gill, said, "Despite the current attention of the world community on the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, half of today's conflict-affected countries have been trapped in turmoil and instability for more than 15 years." The Sudanese Doctors Network, a volunteer group, said in a statement that three children were killed in an RSF attack in El Faser.
Calling on both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF to implement a ceasefire, the organization said the attack and tight siege on the city directly targeted thousands of children, women and the elderly. Blasts and attacks by the RSF have added to the tension in residential areas. Some of the injured have been taken to the city's main hospital, which is currently facing a severe shortage of medicine and medical supplies.
The RSF has been occupying El Faser since May 2024, including daily shelling and intense urban fighting involving both the RSF and the SAF. This has affected the general public. Sudan has been embroiled in conflict between the SAF and the RSF since April 2023. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes within Sudan and across its borders.
Likewise, the war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups has left thousands of people dead and millions homeless in Gaza. On Saturday alone, at least 39 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in airstrikes carried out by Israel in several areas of the northern, central and southern Gaza Strip. Medical sources said 13 civilians were killed and others injured in an Israeli attack targeting two apartments near Samer in central Gaza City.
Israel bombed a camp for displaced people near Palestine Junction, west of the city, killing ten Palestinians and injuring many others. Another 10 people were reported killed in an attack on a house near the Darduna Junction in Jabalia al-Balad, north of the Gaza Strip.
It is reported that a Palestinian who was injured in the previous bomb blast in Khan Yunis has died. It is reported that three other people, including two children, were killed in an Israeli drone attack on Khan Yunus' displaced persons camp. Food shortages caused by the war have exacerbated hunger in Gaza.
Currently, 39 countries are listed as conflict-affected countries, of which 21 countries are directly involved in armed conflict. The list includes countries such as Ukraine, Somalia, South Sudan, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as Iraq. However, Iran is not included. The World Bank said, "Preventive initiatives before the start of conflict are very cheap, effective and beneficial in the long term." World Bank Deputy Chief Economist Ayhan Kosey said, "In the last decade and a half, economic inertia has become the norm in conflict-affected countries, not development. The next effort can be decisive to bring about change in such a situation.'
