The World Bank feared that the rise in energy and food prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it exacerbates existing food security concerns in the Middle East and Africa, and may lead to growing social unrest.
According to the World Bank, there will be significant implications for the Middle East, Africa, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa in particular, which are already food insecure. Noting that food insecurity and riots were part of the so-called Arab Spring, revealing that successful and failed coups increased in the past two years.
Sudden increases in food prices can lead to social unrest, as happened in 2007-2008 and again in 2011, when riots in more than 40 countries were linked to higher global food prices. The World Bank warned that the repercussions could be particularly severe in the Middle East and North Africa, where these countries import most of their wheat and oil from Ukraine and Russia.
According to the World Bank, Central Asian countries also face significant economic challenges due to their close economic and trade relations with Russia, which the International Monetary Fund expects to slip into recession this year due to Western sanctions.
Source (Sky News Arabia Website, Edited)
