EcoWatch A stark new assessment from the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) found that the economic implications from the economic downturns due to the coronavirus crisis might raise the number of people facing acuteĀ foodĀ shortages to 265 million, according toĀ Reuters. That’s nearly twice as many as were already suffering from acute hunger.
The WFP experts warned that swift action is required to provide food and humanitarian relief to the most at-risk areas of the planet before more than a quarter of a billion people are at risk of starving, asĀ The GuardianĀ reported.
“COVID-19 is potentially catastrophic for millions who are already hanging by a thread,” said Dr. Arif Husain, chief economist at theĀ World Food Program, asĀ The GuardianĀ reported.
“It is a hammer blow for millions more who can only eat if they earn a wage. Lockdowns and global economic recession have already decimated their nest eggs. It only takes one more shock ā like COVID-19 ā to push them over the edge. We must collectively act now to mitigate the impact of this global catastrophe.”
The surge in food shortages is due to precipitous drops in tourism, as well as less money being sent to poorer regions, and travel and other restrictions that are driving economic engines to a halt, asĀ ReutersĀ reported.
“We all need to come together to deal with this because if we don’t the cost will be too high ā the global cost will be too high: many lost lives and many, many more lost livelihoods,” Husain told reporters at a virtual briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, according toĀ Reuters.
