Coronavirus to plunge 8 million into poverty in the Arab world, says UN

The economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic could plunge more than eight million people in the Arab world into poverty.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

01 April, 2020

Gaza is considered particularly vulnerable should there be a large outbreak of coronavirus [Getty]

The coronavirus pandemic will plunge 8.3 million people in the Arab region into poverty, the United Nation's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia said on Wednesday.

ESCWA also warned that two million people could become undernourished as a result.

"With today's estimates, a total of 101.4 million people in the region would be classified as poor, and 52 million as undernourished," the UN agency said.

Women and young adults working in the informal sector and who have no access to social welfare are among the most vulnerable, said ESCWA executive secretary Rola Dashti.

"Arab Governments must ensure a swift emergency response to protect their people from falling into poverty and food insecurity owing to the impact of COVID-19," Dashti added.

ESCWA last month warned that the coronavirus pandemic could wipe out more than 1.7 million jobs across the Arab world this year.

Read more: Libya is catastrophically ill-equipped to battle a coronavirus outbreak. Here's why

Locked down countries across the world are suffering from economic recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wealthier nations have introduced stimulus packages and streamlined aid in an effort to mitigate serious harm to their citizens and economies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 40,000 people worldwide since the virus first appeared in China late last year.