This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Developing nations miss out on global investment rebound in 2021: UNCTAD

One of the key indicators of the health of the global economy is just how confident countries are to invest in other countries; and it has “changed dramatically” for the worse, not least because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

That’s the message on Thursday from the head of the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD.

Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said that the war in Ukraine, along with the COVID pandemic and the climate crisis, have contributed to “rapidly increasing investor uncertainty” in the first three months of the year.

Ongoing conflict threatens to reverse the recovery of foreign direct investment in 2021, which at nearly $1.6 trillion, was back to pre-pandemic levels.

Support is also down for investment in the long-term, so-called “greenfield” projects, which promote manufacturing in the countries where they are based, the UNCTAD chief explained, at the launch of the agency’s World Investment Report:

“Preliminary data from the first quarter of this year shows that greenfield project numbers are already down 21 per cent and international project finance deals are down by four per cent.”

Ms. Grynspan cautioned that although foreign investment had recovered last year, most of it was from mergers and acquisitions involving international firms, which also retained their earnings, rather than invest in projects in developing countries.

Sri Lanka crisis: UN calls for over $47 million for lifesaving assistance

Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in its history has left 5.7 million people needing immediate lifesaving assistance, and to help the most vulnerable, the UN on Thursday launched a $47 million appeal for funds.

If nothing is done now, “many families will be unable to meet their basic food needs”, said UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy.

The development comes after Sri Lanka defaulted on its international debt repayments for the first time since it gained independence in 1948, mainly because of a disastrous drop in foreign tourism, caused by the COVID pandemic, and rising energy prices.

Food price inflation reached more than 57 per cent last month, and Sri Lankans have faced shortages in key food items, as well as fuel for cooking, cars and work.

The UN-led appeal followed a request from the Government in Colombo for international assistance to meet the country’s most urgent needs.

These include healthcare and essential medicines, food and emergency nutrition, safe drinking water and livelihood support.

The primary aim of the Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan is to support 1.7 million of the most at-risk men, women and children in Sri Lanka, until September.

World’s most vulnerable nations now paying even more for less food: FAO

Countries are expected to spend a staggering $1.8 trillion importing food they need this year; that would be a new world record but worryingly, it’s going to buy less food, not more.

That’s according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which on Thursday suggested that for some countries, the situation potentially heralded “an end of their resilience to higher prices”.

Higher fixed costs for farmers of fertilizer and fuel are expected to be responsible for this year’s bigger-than-ever global food import bill, along with climate shocks and increased market uncertainty stemming from the war in Ukraine, said FAO economist Upali Galketi Aratchilage, lead author of the agency’s Food Outlook report.

Animal fats and vegetable oils will be the single biggest contributor to higher import bills this year, according to the report, which notes that developing countries are already reducing imports of cereals, oilseeds and meat, reflecting their incapacity to cover the price increases.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.