Poorer countries need urgent food help to stop disorder, say global bodies

WTO and World Bank among those saying richer countries must step in to alleviate effects of rising prices and shortages

Rich countries need to provide emergency food supplies to prevent rising prices and shortages triggering social unrest in poorer parts of the world, the heads of four major international bodies have said.

Calling for urgent and coordinated action, the World Bank, the UN World Food Programme, the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund warned that the food crisis was pushing millions of people into poverty.