The UAE lost to Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the Global Qualifier semifinal
cricket8 hours ago
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced plans to provide at least $14 billion over the 2022-25 period as support to ease a "worsening food crisis" in Asia and the Pacific.
It aims to improve long-term food security by strengthening food systems against the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Nearly 1.1 billion people in the region lack healthy diets due to poverty and food prices, which have soared to record highs this year, the development bank said.
The Russia-Ukraine tensions have disrupted food staples and fertiliser supplies, straining a global food system already weakened by climate change and pandemic-related supply shocks.
The bank added that even before the Ukraine crisis, nutritious food was unaffordable for significant portions of the population in many low-income member countries.
"This is a timely and urgently-needed response to a crisis that is leaving too many poor families in Asia hungry and in deeper poverty," said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa, in remarks at ADB's 55th Annual Meeting, as per a statement.
"We need to act now, before the impacts of climate change worsen and further erode the region's hard-won development gains. Our support will be targeted, integrated, and impactful to help vulnerable people, particularly vulnerable women, in the near-term, while bolstering food systems to reduce the impact of emerging and future food security risks," explained Asakawa.
The announced funding will be channelled through new and existing projects in sectors such as farm inputs, food production and distribution, social protection, irrigation, and water resources management, as well as projects leveraging nature-based solutions.
ADB said it would continue to invest in other activities which contribute to food security, such as energy transition, transport, access to rural finance, environmental management, health, and education.
"An important part of our long-term approach is to safeguard natural resources and support farmers and agribusinesses which produce and distribute much of the region's food, and to promote open trade to ensure it reaches consumers efficiently," he added.
ALSO READ:
The UAE lost to Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the Global Qualifier semifinal
cricket8 hours ago
Narine's 81 off 39 balls guided Kolkata to 235-6 after they were invited to bat first in Lucknow's final home game
cricket9 hours ago
UAE government has been actively promoting digital transformation initiatives
business9 hours ago
Investment expert advocates long-term approach to build your portfolio
business10 hours ago
Needing a win at Anfield to close the gap on fourth-placed Villa, Tottenham slumped to a fourth successive loss
football10 hours ago
Israeli strike on Lebanon's Mais Al Jabal kills four people from a single family
mena11 hours ago
Shortly after the attack, an Israeli airstrike hit a house in Rafah killing three people and wounding several
world11 hours ago
In a private address, the Republican presidential candidate attacks prosecutors involved in his criminal indictments
americas11 hours ago