The heaviest impact of the crisis to be suffered by the developing nations

The global economy will contract this year for the first time since World War II with the heaviest hit to fall upon the shoulders of the poor and developing states, says the World Bank. According to the forecasts trade will decline to its lowest point in 80 years in 2009 with the most tangible decreases expected in East Asia that in its due time featured incredible growth.

The bank stressed that the most severe impact will be suffered by the poorest countries with a group of 129 nations to face a shortfall of $270 to $700 billion this year. These nations cannot expect the world financial institutions to cover even the smallest part of this figure with just ¼ of them having prospects to ease the downturn. As the richer nations are making more borrowings to stay afloat there is no money to be left for the developing states and many financial organizations specifically created to help poor nations "have virtually disappeared."

The bank says that even if some developing countries manage to get the credit they will face higher rates with lower cash flow which will result in even weaker investment and decreasing growth. In light of this cheerless picture the bank calls for cooperation from developed nations, global institutions and the private sector to soften the hit on the developing nations. The bank also underlined that rich countries should spend some of their stimulus funds to support poorer nations.