Leading UN economists said on Thursday that more than 32 million of the world’s poorest people face being pulled back into extreme poverty because of COVID-19.

The experts highlighted data showing that the pandemic is likely to cause the worst economic crisis in decades among least developed countries (LDCs). 

In a call for urgent investment and support from the wider international community, the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD, warned that the new coronavirus risked reversing years of “painstaking progress” in poverty reduction, nutrition and education. 

Abdullahi Hassan reports.