The World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday estimated that in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region an additional 6.7 million people could soon be struggling to feed themselves due to the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.
“With the extra 6.7 million people, the estimated total number of food insecure people in the region will rise to 47.6 million people”, said Elisabeth Byrs senior spokesperson of the World Food Programme in Geneva in a virtual press conference.
“With little to no savings, no unemployment insurance, and reduced food subsidies, people who engage in subsistence or informal work to support their families cannot endure sustained lockdowns,” she explained.
“After years of conflict, political instability and economic troubles, many countries in the MENA region are ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic and its impact”, she said.
Most countries in the region are food-importing countries spending around USD 110 billion on food imports. This makes them vulnerable to trade restrictions and border closures.
Nearly 3.8 million children in 11 countries (one million children in Syria alone) are no longer receiving WFP school meals following schools closures across the region.
It is vital that WFP maintain its food assistance to more than 23 million people in the MENA region at a time when the pandemic threatens to push even more people into hunger.
Many of the people receiving WFP food assistance rely on it for their survival. Of the 23 million people receiving assistance, more than two thirds are in Yemen and Syria.
WFP is implementing alternative mechanisms, in nine out of these 11 countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen and Lebanon). This includes providing take-home rations in lieu of the meals, home delivery of food and provision of cash or vouchers.
The Middle East hosts 20 percent of the global number of people suffering from acute food insecurity or worse (IPC Crisis Phase 3 or above), according to the Global Report on Food Crises.
