Poor Nations

Biden pledges record $4 billion to World Bank fund for poorest nations

The World Bank's IDA fund, which provides mainly grants and very low interest loans to the poorest countries, is replenished every three years, and a pledging conference is scheduled for Dec. 5-6

As poor nations' sovereign default wave peaks, cash shortage may follow

The US Treasury's top economic diplomat has called for new ways to provide short-term liquidity support

Poorest countries confront 18-yr high debt as conflicts & disasters surge

A World Bank report reveals that 26 of the poorest nations are facing their highest debt levels since 2006, struggling with post-pandemic recovery, conflict, and increased disaster risks

Disparities between rich, poor nations in cancer drugs availability: Study

New cancer drugs launched each year increased from 0.5 in the 1990s to over eight in 2022 among high-income countries, whereas they increased from 0.1 to 1.5 a year among upper-middle-income countries, according to a global analysis revealing "significant" and "widening" disparities. New drug launches remained minimal in lower-middle-income and low-income countries, it found. Published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health, the analysis highlighted significant disparities in both availability and timeliness of these medicines worldwide, according to researchers. The inequities could explain the poor cancer outcomes across many countries, especially the low- and middle-income ones, where mortality-to-incidence ratios have been studied to be higher, despite overall cases being lower, the researchers, including those from The Pennsylvania State University, US, said. The measure 'mortality-to-incidence ratio' is used to compare inequities in cancer outcomes. It is calculat

India needs new poverty line for estimating extent of deprivation: Debroy

We still do not have an official (definition of) poverty line that goes beyond the Tendulkar Committee, says Debroy

India may remain poor even after becoming 3rd largest economy: Ex-RBI chief

Even after becoming the third largest economy in the world by 2029 as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India may still be a poor country and therefore there is no reason for celebration, former Reserve Bank Governor D Subbarao said here on Monday. Addressing a gathering at a book launch programme, Subbarao also said, citing Saudi Arabia, that becoming a rich country does not necessarily mean becoming a developed nation. Recalling PM Modi saying that if he returns to office, India will become the third-largest economy before 2029 -- before the end of his third term, he said many economists predict that the country would become the third largest after the US and China, much sooner. In my view, that is possible (India becoming the third-largest economy), but it's not a celebration. Why? We are a large economy because we are 1.40 billion people. And people are a factor of production. So we are a large economy because we have people. But we are still a poor country, Subbarao ..

Thumbs-up for 'guarantee': Budget hits a sweet spot, says PM Modi

He listed some proposals for the middle class, such as rooftop solarisation and "income tax remission" under which the government will withdraw old disputed direct tax demands

Loss and damage fund approved on the first day of COP28 climate summit

The fund aims at supporting poor nations bearing the brunt of global warming through extreme weather events

A count of India's poor: It's a challenge in absence of govt data

Estimating extreme poverty in the country becomes a controversial task, leads to differing estimates

Low-income nations risk 30% seafood nutrient loss to climate change: Study

Low-income countries could lose up to 30 per cent of nutrients from seafood due to climate change, researchers say in a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. These findings about the loss of nutrients, including calcium, iron, protein and omega-3 fatty acids, were valid in a high emissions and low mitigation scenario, the researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, said. The nutrient loss may be restricted to 10 per cent, however, should the world meet the Paris Agreement targets of limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, they said. "Low-income countries and the global south, where seafood is central to diets and has the potential to help address malnutrition, are the hardest hit by the effects of climate change," said first author William Cheung, professor and director of the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). The researchers used predictive climate models on historical fisheries and seafood farming databases to ma

IMF calls for urgent support from members to increase its quota resources

The IMF said the global economy has shown resilience, but the recovery is slow and uneven

International Monetary Fund can help developing nations by helping planet

Tackling the issue requires a long-term vision for sovereign financing to achieve greater stability and resilience in developing economies

Why is India concerned about lending programme of IMF, WB for poor nations?

Eleven nations have signed a note where they have argued against the Bank taking on the responsibility to lend more, thereby raising interest costs for the borrowers

Poor countries need nearly $500 bn in external financing through 2026: IMF

The IMF said the fiscal position of low-income countries "is increasingly under stress"

BS Number Wise: Here's why India's poverty estimates are problematic

Traditional estimates of poverty in the country rely on indicators that are outdated or inaccurate

COP27: Polluters must pay for climate change, poor nations tell rich

Small island states already buffeted by violent ocean storms and sea-level rise called on oil companies to shell out some of the recent profits, while developing African states called for more funds

Poor nations face peril over elusive G-20 debt relief push: An analysis

Two years ago the Group of 20 launched the Common Framework - a mechanism designed to provide a swift and comprehensive debt overhaul to nations buckling under debt burdens after Covid-19 shock

Poverty in India fell by 415 million in 15 yrs; still has maximum poor: UN

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index has revealed that COVID-19 pandemic had set progress in reducing poverty back by 3-10 years

Development banks pass climate 2019 goal, urged to help poor more

The world's top development banks provided more than $80 billion last year to help countries tackle climate change, passing a goal they set in 2019, according to a report published Friday. The European Investment Bank, or EIB, said it and seven other financial institutions committed almost $50.7 billion to low- and middle-income countries, and over $31 billion to rich nations in 2021. Multilateral development banks such as the EIB and the World Bank had pledged three years ago to collectively achieve those targets by 2025. Still, the banks have faced calls to step up their lending for climate projects even more, particularly to struggling economies which are unable to finance projects in other ways. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this week that development banks' current business models were painfully averse to risk. This causes projects such as renewable energy installation to be many times more expensive in poor countries than in rich nations, he said.

Poor nations to seek assistance for climate actions at COP27: LDC Chief

The chair of an influential negotiating bloc in the upcoming United Nations climate summit in Egypt has called for compensation for poorer countries suffering from climate change to be high up on the agenda. Madeleine Diouf Sarr, who chairs the Least Developed Countries group, told The Associated Press that the November conference known as COP27 should capture the voice and needs of the most climate-vulnerable nations and deliver climate justice. Sarr said the group would like to see an agreement to establish a dedicated financial facility that pays nations that are already facing the effects of climate change at the summit. The LDC group, comprised of 46 nations that make up just a small fraction of global emissions, negotiates as a bloc at the UN summit to champion the interests of developing countries. Issues such as who pays for poorer nations to transition to cleaner energy, making sure no communities get left behind in an energy transition and boosting how well vulnerable ..