The US government and international financial institutions including the IMF and World Bank have pledged tens of billions of dollars in food and fertiliser aid to poorer countries under a joint action plan to alleviate a growing global food crisis caused by soaring prices.
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, speaking in Bonn at the G7 finance ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, said she was deeply concerned about the crisis that was unfolding.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine has exacerbated the issue of food security for people around the world, particularly in emerging and developing countries,” she said. Yellen added that there was a “very real risk” that rising global market prices of food and fertiliser will “result in more people going hungry, further exacerbate price pressures and harm government fiscal and external positions”.