The UN food relief agency has warned that the world is on the brink of a “hunger pandemic” and could face multiple famines of biblical proportions within few months if nations don’t act now to avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade due to COVID-19, which continues to spread unabated.
The novel coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese cityof Wuhan in December last, has so far infected over 2,565,290 people and claimed more than 177,770 lives.
“While dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic, we are also onthe brink of a hunger pandemic,” David Beasley, Executive Director of theWorld Food Programme (WFP), said at a virtual session of the UN SecurityCouncil on the ‘Maintenance of International Peace and Security: ProtectingCivilians Affected by Conflict-Induced Hunger’.
“There are no famines yet. But I must warn you that ifwe don’t prepare and act now — to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls anddisruptions to trade — we could be facing multiple famines of biblicalproportions within a short few months,” he said.
Beasley said with COVID-19, the world not only faces aglobal health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe.
Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations,including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink ofstarvation, with the spectre of famine a very real and dangerous possibility,he noted.
Beasley said 821 million people go to bed chronically hungryevery night all over the world. A further 135 million people are facing crisislevels of hunger or worse.