World Bank chief warns of greater poverty risk
Updated
Robert Zoellick says rising food and fuel prices are "double jeopardy" for the world's poor. [Reuters]
The head of the World Bank says the task of saving the world's most vulnerable in the face of soaring food and oil prices is a test the Group of Eight nations cannot afford to fail.
World Bank President, Robert Zoellick, is at the G8 summit in Japan, where rising food and fuel prices are top of the agenda.
The G8's position on food prices and the global economy is expected to be set out today in a raft of statements issued at the summit.
Mr Zoellick says higher prices are taking a particularly heavy toll on the world's poor.
"The food and fuel combination is a double jeopardy that's put people in a danger zone," he said.
"We've done on the ground assessments of over 50 countries and we believe that you could have another 100 million people pushed back into poverty."
