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From the Liveblog of Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Virus to plunge 8 million into poverty in Arab world, UN warns

1 April 2020, 4:38 pm

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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 says.

ESCWA also warns 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 says.

“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,” ESCWA executive secretary Rola Dashti says.

A security officer wearing protective gloves and mask amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic approaches a man on a motorbike in front of the Arbil citadel, in the eponymous capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, on March 30, 2020. (SAFIN HAMED / AFP)

— AFP

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