Pandemic cost will likely far exceed $5 trillion, World Bank head says

The global economy is facing “staggeringly large” losses and the recovery effort is hampered by a shortage of resources to make up for the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, World Bank president David Malpass says.

While the Washington-based development lender has rushed out new programs to deploy $160 billion in funding to 100 countries in an effort to addresses the immediate emergency, the crisis will force developing nations to rethink the structure of their economies, Malpass tells AFP in an interview.

Initial estimates of $5 trillion in economic value destroyed by the COVID-19 measures likely falls far short of the actual damage that will be done by the efforts to contain the virus, he says.

The bank warned that the worldwide recession will drive 60 million people into extreme poverty but Malpass says that grim projection likely will become much worse as the crisis progresses.

— AFP