The global financial crisis is hitting the world’s poorest people the hardest and could lead to a rise in infant mortality, according to a new report from the UN. The UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report found that reduced financial growth in 2009 will cost the 390 million people already living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa an estimated $18bn ($13bn), the equivalent of $46 ($33) per person. The report said there was a real danger of the world’s most vulnerable countries, some of which had been making progress towards providing universal primary education - a marker of movement out of poverty - suffering setbacks. The report also warns of a possible rise in infant mortality of between 200,000 and 400,000 as a result, among other things, of rising child malnutrition. “Millions of children face the prospect of long-term irreversible cognitive damage as a result of the financial crisis”, said report author Patrick Montjourides. UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matusura said wealthy countries cannot be allowed to use the financial crisis as an excuse to “turn their backs on the world’s poor”. “Measure to revive growth and fix the financial system must be coupled with greater efforts to tackle the structural problems of extreme problem and inequality”, he said. The report calls for a concerted international effort to help poorer people survive the financial crisis. Efforts include asking the EU for an extra $4.5bn in aid to strengthen social protection programmes and provide economic safety nets for the world’s poorest populations.
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