聯合國特別倡導者說，家庭將不吃飯以應對生活成本危機

 https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/31/families-will-skip-meals-amid-food-inflation-un-special-advocate.html 

KEY POINTS ·        “An increase of food prices of the magnitude that we’re seeing, of energy prices, basically will mean that a lot of families are going to have from three or two meals a day to have one meal a day,” Queen Maxima of the Netherlands told CNBC. ·        The war between Russia and Ukraine — both major producers of food commodities and energy — has disrupted global production, trade and supply in these areas, leading to a surge in prices. ·        According to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook report, energy prices in 2022 are expected to rise by over 50%, while wheat prices forecast to soar by more than 40%. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has told CNBC that she is very worried about the impact of soaring food and energy prices on families, adding that this could lead to increased instability in certain regions. The war between Russia and Ukraine — both major producers of food commodities and energy — has disrupted global production, trade and supply in these areas, leading to a surge in prices. According to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook report, energy prices in 2022 are expected to rise by over 50%, while wheat prices forecast to soar by more than 40%. “An increase of food prices of the magnitude that we’re seeing, of energy prices, basically will mean that a lot of families are going to have from three or two meals a day to have one meal a day. And this in turn, will actually give, probably, will be the source of even more instability in other regions. So that worries me a lot,” Maxima said, speaking exclusively to CNBC last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Maxima, the U.N. secretary-general’s special advocate for inclusive finance for development, told CNBC that the pandemic has pushed many more into extreme poverty and increases in the price of fertilizers could have short- and longer-term implications. A trained economist, Maxima previously worked in international finance and emerging markets.   “We’re going to be seeing now because of inflation, but we’re going to be seeing also in the next year, because when you don’t have fertilizers, you cannot increase your yield. So therefore, you’re going to see less produce coming out from Africa, which actually feeds each other there. So, you’re going to have less food, so the prices are even probably going to go up by even more, so very worrying,” she said. Access to finance When asked how concerned she was about the conflict in Europe, Maxima told CNBC: “Well, sadly the concern is not only the conflict in and by itself, but in my role in financial inclusion for development, which is I want to reduce poverty, I want more girls to go to school, I want more people to have better futures.” She said that while the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on many, it has also led to some positive steps toward financial inclusion. The shift toward digitalization during lockdowns led many governments to discover the importance of using tools such as mobile phones to reach those in need of financial relief. “A lot of governments when the pandemic and the lockdown started, thought … this is the way for us to send money to the poorest and the most vulnerable people, that had to stay locked down, they couldn’t go to the markets and sell their produce, and this was a very important issue,” she said. “So many, many countries have increased this, I would say, government-to-people payments in these two years, and they’ve actually discovered this financial inclusion tool to actually do a lot more other goals that they’re trying to attain.” At the World Economic Forum, Maxima said “1.2 billion adults had gained access to financial services in the last decade,” but she told CNBC there are probably 1.5 billion more to go. The latest data from the World Bank’s Global Findex, which measures how adults in 148 economies save, borrow, make payments and manage risk, is expected this summer.   Maxima said technology is crucial to connecting people. “Without technology, we would not have been able to reach the billions of people we’re being able to reach now … so fintech therefore, can actually play a very good role. Why? Because they think differently and they can really listen to the needs of a population and actually design products that really cater to those needs,” she said.   She said that women, rural smallholder farmers, micro enterprises and the world’s most poor and vulnerable are in greatest need of digital solutions to improve access to finance. “Sadly, after this pandemic, we even have seen groups of women that actually are less connected to the internet, because between the money to spend to actually have a phone and to put food on the table, well they chose putting food on the table,” she said. “So, there is a very big connection between the affordability and accessibility to digital solutions as well, to be able to have people financially included.”

關鍵點 ·        “我們所看到的食品價格和能源價格的大幅上漲，基本上意味著很多家庭將從一天三餐或兩餐變成一天一餐，”英國女王馬克西瑪 (Queen Maxima)荷蘭告訴 CNBC。 ·        俄羅斯和烏克蘭——都是食品和能源的主要生產國——之間的戰爭擾亂了這些地區的全球生產、貿易和供應，導致價格飆升。 ·        根據世界銀行最新的《商品市場展望》報告，預計2022年能源價格將上漲50%以上，而小麥價格預計將飆升40%以上。   荷蘭王后馬克西瑪告訴 CNBC，她非常擔心食品和能源價格飆升對家庭的影響，並補充說這可能導致某些地區的不穩定局勢加劇。 俄羅斯和烏克蘭——都是食品和能源的主要生產國——之間的戰爭擾亂了這些地區的全球生產、貿易和供應，導致價格飆升。       根據世界銀行最新的《商品市場展望》報告，預計 2022 年能源價格將上漲 50% 以上，而小麥價格預計將飆升 40% 以上。 “我們所看到的食品價格和能源價格的大幅上漲，基本上意味著許多家庭將從一天三餐或兩餐變為一天一餐。反過來，這實際上會給其他地區帶來更多不穩定因素。所以這讓我很擔心，”馬克西瑪上週在瑞士達沃斯舉行的世界經濟論壇上專門接受 CNBC 採訪時說。      聯合國秘書長包容性金融促進發展特別倡導者馬克西瑪告訴 CNBC，這種流行病已將更多人推入極端貧困，化肥價格上漲可能會產生短期和長期影響。作為一名訓練有素的經濟學家，Maxima 曾在國際金融和新興市場工作。     “由於通貨膨脹，我們現在會看到，但明年我們也會看到，因為如果沒有化肥，就無法提高產量。因此，您將看到來自非洲的農產品減少，而這些農產品實際上在非洲相互供養。所以，你會吃到更少的食物，所以價格甚至可能會上漲更多，這非常令人擔憂，”她說。     獲得資金 當被問及她對歐洲衝突的擔憂程度時，Maxima 告訴 CNBC：“可悲的是，令人擔憂的不僅僅是衝突本身，還有我在金融包容性促進發展中的角色，即我想減少貧困，我希望更多的女孩上學，我希望更多的人有更好的未來。” 她說，雖然 Covid-19 大流行對許多人產生了負面影響，但它也導致了一些朝著金融包容性邁進的積極步驟。   封鎖期間向數字化的轉變使許多政府發現了使用手機等工具來幫助那些需要經濟救濟的人的重要性。   “當大流行和封鎖開始時，許多政府認為……這是我們向最貧窮和最脆弱的人匯款的方式，他們不得不一直處於封鎖狀態，他們無法去市場出售他們的產品，這是一個非常重要的問題，”她說。 “這麼多、很多國家在這兩年增加了政府對人民的支付，他們實際上發現了這種金融包容性工具來實際實現他們試圖實現的更多其他目標。”     在世界經濟論壇上，Maxima 說“在過去十年中，有 12 億成年人獲得了金融服務”，但她告訴 CNBC，可能還有 15 億人需要去。世界銀行全球 Findex 的最新數據預計將於今年夏天發布，該指數衡量 148 個經濟體中的成年人如何儲蓄、借貸、支付和管理風險。   Maxima 表示，技術對於人與人之間的聯繫至關重要。 “如果沒有技術，我們將無法接觸到我們現在能夠接觸到的數十億人……因此，金融科技實際上可以發揮很好的作用。為什麼？因為他們的想法不同，他們可以真正傾聽人群的需求，並設計出真正滿足這些需求的產品，”她說。 她說，婦女、農村小農、微型企業和世界上最貧窮和最脆弱的人最需要數字解決方案來改善融資渠道。   “可悲的是，在這場大流行之後，我們甚至看到了實際上與互聯網聯系較少的女性群體，因為在花錢買手機和把食物放在桌子上之間，她們選擇了把食物放在桌子上，“ 她說。   “因此，數字解決方案的可負擔性和可及性之間也存在非常大的聯繫，以便能夠讓人們在財務上包括在內。”