The Asian Development Bank on Saturday called for immediate action from global governments to combat soaring food prices and pledged fresh financial aid to help feed the Asia Pacific region's poorest nations. The ADB set out a plan of short- and medium-to-longer-term assistance work, including financial support, to protect the most vulnerable groups as well as programmes to mitigate the immediate impact on the poor of soaring food prices. Following is a summary of the plan. SHORT TERM ASSISTANCE