IMF: Ukraine's War Drives Africa toward Starvation

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused another "huge negative shock" to sub-Saharan Africa

The director of the International Monetary Fund's Africa Department said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had pushed up food and energy prices, exposing the most vulnerable to starvation.

Abebe Amiru Selassie said during an interview with "Reuters" news agency, that the food security crisis has imposed pressure on African countries that are already suffering from the prolonged crisis of the "Covid-19" pandemic, education disruption, income loss, and serious debt problems.

He added this makes it difficult for these countries to combat the effects of inflation, he added.

The IMF said in its published semi-annual Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa that all these factors also boosted the chances of social unrest.