Top food aid authorities with the United Nations met with the African Union Thursday to discuss the looming food crisis on the continent which is being exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
"The number of people on the verge of being extremely vulnerable was already very high," Dominique Burgeon, director of emergencies for FAO, explained. "What we fear is that this number will further increase because of the impact of COVID-19 on food security."
The warnings from the FAO and the WFP follow calls from Oxfam International and other anti-poverty campaigners for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to immediately cancel debts for developing countries and create an aid fund that those nations can draw from to shore up their healthcare systems and support people who have lost their incomes as a result of the pandemic.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/16/wealthy-countries-must-step-prevent-famine-developing-world-un-says
"The number of people on the verge of being extremely vulnerable was already very high," Dominique Burgeon, director of emergencies for FAO, explained. "What we fear is that this number will further increase because of the impact of COVID-19 on food security."
The World Food Program (WFP) detailed the top five ways vulnerable countries which were already facing food insecurity could quickly fall into famines due to the pandemic.
The spread of coronavirus could displace families; create an even bigger strain on social safety nets which already serve less than 20% of the population in vulnerable countries; and lead to rising food prices as well as reduced incomes, the program said
The warnings from the FAO and the WFP follow calls from Oxfam International and other anti-poverty campaigners for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to immediately cancel debts for developing countries and create an aid fund that those nations can draw from to shore up their healthcare systems and support people who have lost their incomes as a result of the pandemic.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/16/wealthy-countries-must-step-prevent-famine-developing-world-un-says
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