BBC :
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Kristalina Georgieva said governments need to subsidise the cost of food and energy for the poorest members of society.
Support should be supplied in a targeted manner, preferably through direct subsidies to individuals, the IMF chief said in an interview with the BBC.
People around the world are struggling with the rising cost of living.
Regarding the cost of living crisis, Georgieva stated, “There are two priorities, the first being the extremely poor, who are currently dealing with high food and energy prices.”
She stated that the second objective is to assist those businesses that have been “particularly harmed” by the conflict in Ukraine.
However, that’s proving challenging because food prices have hit record highs this year, whilst oil and gas prices have also risen sharply.
This is largely due to the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are both major exporters of crops and hydrocarbons.
Protests seen in Sri Lanka could be repeated in other countries
Georgieva is concerned about the impact those higher borrowing costs will have on governments who have to repay huge debts they took on to get through the pandemic.
She said governments needed to be “very careful” about how much money they spent and what they spent it on.
Georgieva is concerned that without the correct government support the protests seen in Sri Lanka could be repeated in other countries.
