In a worsening global environment, economies in the Middle East and Central Asia are being buffeted by a confluence of shocks: a global slowdown, high and volatile food and energy prices, faster and stronger than expected tightening of financial conditions, and the risk of fragmentation. The region’s emerging market and middle-income economies and low-income countries are hit hard, with many facing curtailed access to market financing, while oil-exporting countries are being buffered by still-high energy prices.