Economic crisis turning into human calamity: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) has said the current global economic crisis is turning into a human calamity as it has hit millions of poor people across the world.

Concluding that the current global economic crisis has deteriorated dramatically in the last couple of months, the IMF and the WB, in a joint communiqué on Sunday, said developing countries, in particular, have been facing serious consequences of the meltdown, as the "financial and economic crisis turns into a human and development calamity".

"There is a widespread recognition that the world faces an unprecedented economic crisis, poor people could suffer the most, and that we must continue to act in real time to prevent a human catastrophe," said WB President Robert Zoellick at a press conference after the Development Committee meeting.

The crisis has no only driven more than 50 million people, particularly women and children, into extreme poverty, but the hard-earned progress towards the Millennium Development Goals is also now in jeopardy, the Bretton Woods institutions said.

A latest research shows that most of these eight globally agreed goals are unlikely to be met, Zoellick said, adding the goals include those related to hunger, child and maternal mortality, education, and progress in combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases.