The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, on Tuesday, March 8, warned that the ongoing war in Ukraine not only has a dramatic impact on the lives of civilians but also has global repercussions. Guterres tweeted: “The war in Ukraine not only has a dramatic impact on the lives of civilians but also has global repercussions. Developing countries already in dire situations can simply not afford skyrocketing prices of food, fuel and other essential goods.” Prof. Herman Musahara, an economist who is a senior member of the at Economic Policy Research Network (EPRN) in Rwanda, on Wednesday gave The New Times his views on the impact of the conflict which is now “the talk of everybody from Twitter spaces to the UN Security Council” and also noted that the impact is certainly global now as stated by the UN chief. Musahara said: “Like the crisis of 1973 the most affected sector is energy and commodity prices. The price of a barrel is now, for the foreseeable future, above $100. So, definitely we get imported inflation. Wheat, barley and corn prices are going up also. Russia and Ukraine account for 30 per cent of global supply. These are intermediate goods and the UN Secretary-General is right with imported inflation and, after the Covid-19 impact, developing countries, children and women will feel the effect of what is happening there.” “The supply chains like during the Covid-19 have started being disturbed. Trade and financial systems are not affected by the conflict only but also by the sanctions by the US and the NATO partners. Imports of raw materials and final goods will be expensive and make lives [hard] in developing countries which are still struggling to recover from Covid-19.” Musahara also said there is a possibility of resources being diverted. “You can expect that grants on support and even education on youth, children and poor will now go to victims of the conflict.: The East African Community (EAC) on March 2 issued a statement stating that it was deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine. The bloc called for restraint and an immediate ceasefire by the two sides to avoid further loss of life and damage to property. At the time, the regional bloc shared the deep concern earlier expressed by the African Union Commission on the reported discrimination of Africans seeking safe exit from the conflict zone in Ukraine. According to reports, around 4.5 percent of the population has left Ukraine, less than two weeks after Russia’s invasion began, on February 24. On Tuesday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said two million people have fled from the war in Ukraine, country of approximately 44 million people. Most refugees head to neighboring countries including Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Poland. Grandi reported that UNHCR is supporting coordination of the humanitarian response. The UN refugee chief called for the international community to step up to provide more support for refugees and host communities, particularly in Moldova where some 250,000 people found refuge. “All European states must continue to show generosity. Other countries, beyond Europe, also have an important role to play to help people in need and share the international responsibility for millions of refugees,” said Grandi. While in the region, the UN refugee chief also raised concerns about discrimination and racism against some communities fleeing Ukraine. According to media reports, Russia and Ukraine earlier agreed on the need for humanitarian corridors to deliver aid and help civilians exit besieged Ukrainian cities, in the first apparent sign of progress in talks between the warring sides. “We welcome public communications by the two sides regarding their intention to facilitate safe passage for civilians out of conflict areas including Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Tuesday told journalists during his daily briefing in New York.
