International Monetary Fund issues joint statement with World Bank Group and World Food Programme on Middle East war driving energy market disruption and food insecurity

The heads of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group and the World Food Programme issued a joint statement following discussions on the global economic and food security impacts of the war in the Middle East. They said the conflict has already triggered one of the largest disruptions to global energy markets in modern history and that higher oil, gas and fertilizer prices, alongside transport bottlenecks, will drive rising food prices and food insecurity. The statement warned that the heaviest burden will fall on the world’s most vulnerable populations, particularly in low-income, import-dependent economies where fiscal space is constrained and debt burdens are already high, limiting governments’ ability to protect vulnerable households. The institutions said they will monitor developments closely, coordinate the use of all available tools and, within their mandates and existing response mechanisms, provide support to safeguard lives and livelihoods and underpin a resilient recovery.