Coronavirus could trigger hunger pandemic and push 265 million to the brink of starvation, warns UN report
The number of people battling acute hunger and suffering from malnutrition is on the rise and the coronavirus pandemic could push even more families and communities into deeper distress, warn experts.
The number of people suffering from hunger and food crisis is projected to double, from 135 million last year to about 265 million in 2020, says a UN report. As countries battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN warns that the world is also on the brink of a hunger pandemic.
"21 million people go to bed hungry every night all over the world, chronically hungry, and as the new Global Report on Food Crisis (GRFC) shows, there are further 135 million people facing crisis levels of hunger or worse."
"That means 135 million people on earth are marching towards the brink of starvation. But now the World Food Programme analysis shows that, due to the coronavirus, an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020. That’s a total of 265 million people," said David Beasley, UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director.
"Today, with COVID-19, I want to stress that we are not only facing a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe," he added.
The expert warns that famine is a very real and dangerous possibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Currently, on any given day, WFP offers a lifeline to nearly 100 million people, up from about 80 million just a few years ago."
"This includes about 30 million people who depend on us to stay alive. If we can't reach these people with the life-saving assistance they need, our analysis shows that 300,000 people could starve to death every single day over three months. This does not include the increase of starvation due to COVID-19," warned Beasley.
In a worst-case scenario, the UN projects that the world could be looking at famine in about three dozen countries. And in 10 of these countries, there are already over one million people per nation who are on the verge of starvation.
"There are no famines yet. But I must warn you that if we don’t prepare and act now to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade, we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months."
"The actions we take will determine our success, or failure, in building sustainable food systems as the basis of stable and peaceful societies. The truth is, we do not have time on our side, so let’s act wisely – and let’s act fast," said Beasley.
Over 2,567,320 COVID-19 cases have been reported globally as of April 22, and more than 177,520 have died in the pandemic, shows the Johns Hopkins tracker.
According to the UN report, at 135 million, the number of people in the food crisis or worse in 2019 was the highest in the four years of the existence of the Global Report on Food Crises.
"When comparing the 50 countries that were in both the 2019 and the 2020 reports, the population in crisis or worse rose from 112 to 123 million. This reflected worsening acute food insecurity in key conflict-driven crises, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan and the growing severity of drought and economic shocks as drivers in countries such as Haiti, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe."
"Around 183 million people in 47 countries were classified in stressed conditions, at risk of slipping into crisis or worse if confronted by an additional shock or stressor," said researchers.
Conflict or insecurity was still the main driver of food crises in 2019, but weather extremes and economic shocks became increasingly significant.
Experts say that the drivers of food crises, as well as lack of access to dietary energy and diversity, safe water, sanitation, and healthcare, will continue to create high levels of child malnutrition, while COVID-19 is likely to overburden health systems.
"The pandemic may well devastate livelihoods and food security, especially in fragile contexts and particularly for the most vulnerable people working in the informal agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. A global recession will majorly disrupt food supply chains," says the report.
Researchers say that while COVID-19 does not discriminate, the 55 countries and territories that are home to 135 million acutely food-insecure people, in need of urgent humanitarian food and nutrition assistance, are the most vulnerable to the consequences of this pandemic.
The reason: they have very limited or no capacity to cope with either the health or socioeconomic aspects of the shock.
"These countries may face an excruciating trade-off between saving lives or livelihoods or, in a worst-case scenario, saving people from the coronavirus to have them die from hunger."
"To prevent these tens of millions of people already facing food crises from succumbing to the virus or its economic consequences, all actors need to mobilize and coordinate along with a set of operational and strategic priorities," says the research team.
Experts also warn that people in food crises often have higher rates of underlying health conditions, including non-communicable diseases and malnutrition. These weaken the immune system and could increase the risk of people developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, they add.
The analysis says that rising unemployment and under-employment is likely to severely reduce people’s purchasing power.
Urban populations, particularly daily wage earners in the informal economies and service sector employees, are particularly at risk of losing their income sources as a result of regulations on social distancing and government restrictions to minimize transmission, say experts.
Accordingly, given the unprecedented nature of the crisis, the experts recommend creating a better understanding of the potential impacts of COVID-19 and taking rapid collective action to "pre-empt its impact on food security and food systems".
They call for expanding near-real-time, remote food security monitoring systems to provide up-to-date information on the impacts of the outbreak on food security and livelihoods, health, access to services, markets, and supply chains, among others, for early action and mitigation.
"Preserve critical humanitarian food, livelihood and nutrition assistance to vulnerable groups – adapted to potential COVID-19 impacts – to ensure that needs are fully met," says the report.