您现在的位置是:首页 > 英语听力 > VOA英语听力下载|VOA news > voa标准英语|美国之音常速英语下载|在线收听 正文 VOA常速英语:Economic policy makers see food crisis as major problem 2008-04-14来源:和谐英语 Download AudioEconomic policy makers from all corners of the word ended their meeting in in Washington with a call for assistance to countries most affected by a recent sharp rise in food prices. VOA's Barry Wood reports.World Bank President Robert Zoellick said help is needed for countries in which sharply higher food prices are causing hunger. Many grain prices have nearly doubled in the past year and the impact is particularly severe in impoverished countries like Haiti and Bangladesh. Zoellick said a 500 million dollar emergency feeding program will be set up."We have to put our money where our mouth is," said Robert Zoellick. "Now. So that we can put food into hungry mouths. It's as stark as that."International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who participated in the Sunday meeting of the World Bank's Development Committee, warned that the inflationary effect of higher food prices could push millions back into poverty."All that has been done [achieved over the past decade] can be destroyed very rapidly by the crisis coming from the increase in food prices," said Dominique Strauss-Kahn.In Asia rice prices have risen by more than 75 percent in less than three months and some rice exporting countries have placed restrictions on foreign sales.(Www.hxen.net)Policymakers who came to Washington for this previously scheduled meeting of the IMF and World Bank governing body were sobered by the sudden deterioration in the world economic outlook. Growth has slowed to its slowest pace in five years while food and energy prices continued to rise. Lenders are less willing to take risks in the aftermath of the mortgage loan problem that surfaced in the United States eight months ago.While some developing countries are cutting back, oil exporting nations are reaping windfall profits from the quadrupling of oil prices in the past five years. World Bank president Zoellick wants some of that oil wealth to be invested in Africa."The allocation of even one percent of the assets of sovereign wealth funds [investment funds, many of which are based in the Middle East] to equity investments in Africa could draw $30 billion to African development, growth and opportunity," he said.The IMF and World Bank also called for more supervision of financial markets and a successful conclusion of the latest round of global talks aimed at removing barriers to trade.sober:使清醒, 使严肃 本栏目更多同类内容 扫码关注和谐英语微信公众号,第一时间获取最新学习资料 或公众号搜索myhxen 上一篇 VOA常速英语:Scientists map Madagascar's unique species 下一篇 VOA常速英语:Obama on defensive for comments about small town voters 相关文章 VOA常速英语:日增20万确诊病例,印度疫情失控VOA常速英语:美国驱逐10名俄罗斯外交官VOA常速英语:US Marks One Year of Pandemic Shutdown with Hope, ConcernVOA常速英语:US Senate Nears Vote on $1.9 Trillion Biden COVID Aid PackageVOA常速英语:What Is Clubhouse and Why Did It Get So Popular?VOA常速英语:Thermal Water Helps Recovering COVID PatientsVOA常速英语:Deadly Drug Overdoses Epidemic Rages OnVOA常速英语:International Women’s Day Marks Year of Increased Hardships for Women WorldwideVOA常速英语:US States Relax Restrictions, Health Officials Warn Against ItVOA常速英语:Virginia Starts Reopening Schools for In-Person Learning