The world will likely continue to live with ripple effects from the financial crisis for years, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Friday. Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Zoellick said the World Bank estimated that a further 64 million people would fall into extreme poverty between 2009 and 2010 as a result of the crisis.
"We continue to see negative fallout from the economic crisis," Zoellick told a news conference in Berlin. "For developed countries, it is a matter of jobs and economic growth. For too many poor countries, it is the searing pain of millions going hungry, getting sick, with the impact being felt on a generation of children for many years."
Zoellick said the private sector would need to play a bigger role as government stimulus measures fade. "As stimulus measures fade, we will need a hand off to private economy," he said. He added that it was in the interests of developed nations to help the emerging economies out of the crisis, as they could be a source of growth.
"Interconnectedness is a key factor of today's economic world. Helping the developing world through these rough times is in all of our interests," he said. "We hope developing countries can also become an important source of growth in the global economy, which will be very important for Germany as an export nation."