The International Monetary Fund warned over the weekend that the already “serious” global economic impacts of the war in Ukraine and the associated sanctions would be “all the more devastating” should the conflict escalate.
Evan as forecasts remain subject to “extraordinary uncertainty, the economic consequences” of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin’s Russia on its eastern European neighbor “are already very serious,” the IMF said in a statement.
Energy and commodity prices have surged, with a barrel of oil now close to $120, piling on the inflationary hike that the world was already experiencing as economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Should the conflict escalate, the economic damage would be all the more devastating,” the international lender said in a statement after a meeting on Friday of its executive board on the economic impact of the war.
“Price shocks will have an impact worldwide, especially on poor households for whom food and fuel are a higher proportion of expenses,” the statement said.
The IMF said emergency financial assistance requested by Ukraine has already amounted to $1.4 billion. The “unprecedented” sanctions against Russia “will also have a substantial impact on the global economy and financial markets, with significant spillovers to other countries.” It added that scarcity and supply disruptions could be particularly sharp for countries with close economic ties with Ukraine and Russia.
More than 1.5 million people have fled the war, according to the United Nations, and as the humanitarian crisis unfolds, countries all over the world will have to gird themselves for the serious economic impact of the war that could derail current efforts to recover from the already devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine didn’t consider that we were still struggling from the damage wrought by the pandemic but we will have to be prepared to mitigate the impacts, especially upon the most vulnerable Filipinos. Aside from the present concerns, we also have to consider the future threats that a people living in the planet’s more dangerous areas as it continues to warm.
Let us take these threats and challenges into consideration as we evaluate our choice of leaders in the upcoming elections because our country’s future depends on the quality of its leaders, especially during these difficult times.*
