WAR ON IRAN COULD PUSH MILLIONS MORE TOWARDS HUNGER, WORLD BANK CHIEF ECONOMIST WARNS

Thu 16 April 2026:

The US-Israel war on Iran and hostilities in the Middle East could push millions more towards hunger, the World Bank’s chief economist told the AFP news agency in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC.

“You have about 300 million people who suffer from acute food insecurity already,” Indermit Gill said. “That’ll go up by about 20 percent very, very quickly,” as knock-on effects grow.

Most exposed are people in countries that are at war or have fragile governments, he said, adding that if the situation isn’t resolved soon, “hunger will start to stalk these countries massively”.

“The food that’s in the market right now has already been grown,” Gill said, but the real effects could be felt in a few months.

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Economic shock from Iran war risks driving up global debt levels, says IMF

The Iran war risks triggering a rise in global debt levels, forcing governments to choose between cushioning a cost of living shock and maintaining sound public finances, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Against a volatile backdrop of the Middle East conflict, the Washington-based fund said the war could add to the already strained position of government finances throughout the world.

In its half-yearly fiscal monitor, the IMF said global debt levels were on track to increase because the war was pushing up the price of energy and food, fuelling higher government borrowing costs, and hitting economic growth.

After a rise in gross government debt levels to almost 94% of GDP last year, it warned this figure was on track to reach 100% by 2029, a level previously reached only in the aftermath of the second world war.

“The outbreak of war in the Middle East has added a new source of fiscal pressure to an already strained global landscape,” it said in the report.

“The conflict has material global reach, disrupting energy supplies, tightening financial conditions, and forcing governments to choose between shielding their populations from price spikes and preserving fiscal space.”

Global energy prices have surged since the first US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on 28 February, risking a renewed inflation shock that has fuelled a sell-off in global debt markets – driving up borrowing costs for governments worldwide.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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