Food prices, violence raise alarm

WASHINGTON — The president of the World Bank on Sunday urged immediate action to deal with mounting food prices that have caused hunger and deadly violence in several countries.

Robert Zoellick said the international community has "to put our money where our mouth is" and act now to help hungry people. "It is as stark as that." He called on governments to rapidly carry out commitments to provide the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) with $500 million in emergency aid it needs by May 1.

He said the bank is granting an additional $10 million to Haiti for feeding programs, "and I understand others are looking to help."

"It is critical that governments confirm their commitments as soon as possible and others begin to commit," Zoellick said. Prices have only risen further since the WFP issued its appeal, so it is urgent that governments step up, he said.

After a meeting of the bank's policy-setting committee, Zoellick said the fall of the government in Haiti over the weekend after a wave of deadly rioting and looting over food prices underscores the importance of quick international action. A U.N. police officer was killed Saturday in Haiti's capital.

Zoellick said that international finance meetings are "often about talk," but he noted a "greater sense of intensity and focus" among ministers; now, he said, they have to "translate it into greater action."

Zoellick said the bank was responding to needs in a number of other countries with conditional cash-transfer programs, providing food in workplaces and seeds for planting in the new season.

He said the bank estimates that a doubling of food prices over the past three years could potentially push people in low-income countries deeper into poverty.

"This is not just a question of short-term needs, as important as they are," Zoellick said. "This is about ensuring that future generations don't pay a price, too."

Zoellick spoke as the bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), wound up two days of meetings that dealt with the financial crises roiling global markets and rising food and energy prices.

The head of the IMF also sounded the alarm on food prices, warning that if they remain high there will be dire consequences for people in many developing countries, especially in Africa.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn said progress in recent years on development can be destroyed by rising food prices, which can lead to starvation and shake the stability of governments.