People wear protective masks as they wait in line at a testing site for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) set up for returning students, faculty and staff on the main campus of New York University (NYU) in Manhattan in New York City, New York, US, August 18, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

 

The coronavirus pandemic may have driven as many as 100 million people back into extreme poverty, World Bank President David Malpass warned Thursday.

 

世界銀行行長戴維·馬爾帕斯8月20日警告說，新冠疫情或令1億人重新陷入極端貧困。

 

The Washington-based development lender previously estimated that 60 million people would fall into extreme poverty due to COVID-19, but the new estimate puts the deterioration at 70 to 100 million, and he said “that number could go higher” if the pandemic worsens or drags on.

 

根據世界銀行此前的估計，將有6000萬人因為新冠疫情陷入極端貧困，但最新的評估將這一數字升高到7000萬至1億人。馬爾帕斯說，如果疫情惡化或持續下去，“這個數字可能會更高”。世界銀行的總部設在華盛頓。

 

The situation makes it “imperative” that creditors reduce the amount of debt held by poor countries at risk, going beyond the commitment to suspend debt payments, Malpass said in an interview with AFP.

 

馬爾帕斯在接受法新社記者采訪時說，這種形勢使債權人“必須”減少身陷風險之中的窮國的債務，而不僅僅是承諾推遲償債。

 

Even so, more countries will be obliged to restructure their debt.

 

即便如此，更多的國家將不得不重組其債務。

 

“The debt vulnerabilities are high, and the imperative of getting light at the end of the tunnel so that new investors can come in is substantial,” Malpass said.

 

馬爾帕斯說：“債務脆弱性很高，必須讓人們看到希望的曙光，以吸引新的投資者加入。”

 

Advanced economies in the Group of 20 already have committed to suspending debt payments from the poorest nations through the end of the year, and there is growing support for extending that moratorium into next year amid a pandemic that’s killed nearly 800,000 people and sickened more than 25 million worldwide.

 

二十國集團中的發達經濟體已承諾，同意最貧窮國家暫停償還債務至年底。目前全球新冠疫情已導致近80萬人死亡，2500多萬人患病，因此將暫停償還債務政策的有效期延長至明年的呼聲越來越高。

 

moratorium [mrtrim]：n.暫停，中止

 

 

A health worker teaches children how to wash their hands during a door-to-door testing in an attempt to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Umlazi township near Durban, South Africa, April 4, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

 

But Malpass said that will not be enough, since the economic downturn means those countries, which already are struggling to provide a safety net for their citizens, will not be in a better position to deal with the payments.

 

但馬爾帕斯說，這還不夠。因為經濟衰退意味著，那些在為民眾提供社會保障方面已經幾近力不從心的國家，在償債方面也同樣陷入困境。

 

The amount of debt reduction needed will depend on the situation in each country, he said, but the policy “makes a lot of sense.”

 

馬爾帕斯說，需要減少的債務量將基于每個經濟體的不同情況，但這項政策“非常有意義”。

 

“So I think the awareness of this will be gradually, more and more apparent” especially “for the countries with the highest vulnerability to the debt situation.”

 

“因此，我認為人們會逐漸意識到這一點，這會越來越明顯，尤其是那些最容易受到債務危機影響的國家。”

 

The World Bank has committed to deploying $160 billion in funding to 100 countries through June 2021 in an effort to address the immediate emergency, and about $21 billion had been released through the end of June.

 

世界銀行承諾，到2021年6月為止，將向100個國家提供1600億美元（約合人民幣11065億元）的資金，以應對迫在眉睫的緊急情況。截至今年6月底，世界銀行已發放約210億美元。

 

But even so, extreme poverty, defined as earning less than $1.90 a day, continues to rise.

 

但即便如此，極端貧困人口仍在增加。極端貧困的定義是每日收入低于1.9美元。

 

Malpass said the deterioration is due to a combination of the destruction of jobs during the pandemic as well as supply issues that make access to food more difficult.

 

馬爾帕斯說，情況惡化是由于疫情期間就業崗位減少以及供應問題使人們更難獲得食物。

 

“All of this contributes to pushing people back into extreme poverty the longer the economic crisis persists.”

 

“這一切將導致經濟危機持續時間越長，就有越多的人重新陷入極端貧困。”

 

Newly-installed World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart has called the economic crisis a “pandemic depression,” but Malpass was less concerned with terminology.

 

新任世界銀行首席經濟學家卡門·賴因哈特將這場經濟危機稱為“疫情大蕭條”，但馬爾帕斯并不那么在意術語說法。

 

“We can start calling it a depression. Our focus is on how do we help countries be resilient in working out on the other side.”

 

他說：“我們可以開始稱之為蕭條。我們的重點在于在另一方面，如何幫助各國恢復發展。”

 

havin a clear view of the size of each country’s debt and the collateral involved also are key to being able to help the debtor nations, Malpass said.

 

馬爾帕斯說，清楚地了解每個國家的債務規模和涉及的擔保品也是幫助債務國的關鍵。

 

collateral[kltrl]：抵押品，擔保品

 

Governments in advanced economies so far have been “generous” in their support of developing nations, even while they take on heavy spending programs in their own countries, Malpass said.

 

馬爾帕斯說，到目前為止，發達經濟體的政府在支持發展中國家方面一直“慷慨”施以援手，即使發達經濟體自身也要實施大規模支出計劃。

 

“But the bigger problem is that their economies are weak,” Malpass said of the wealthy nations.

 

馬爾帕斯在談到發達經濟體時說：“但更大的問題是，這些國家的經濟也很疲弱。”

 

“The most important thing the advanced economies do for the developing countries is supply markets… start growing, and start reopening markets.”

 

“發達經濟體為發展中國家做的最重要的事情是供應市場開始增長，并開始重新開放市場。”