The COVID-19 pandemic will see more than a quarter of a billion people suffering from acute hunger by the end of the year, according to new figures from the World Food Programme (WFP).
WFP said in a report published Tuesday, adding the “latest numbers indicate the lives and livelihoods of 265 million people in low and middle-income countries will be under severe threat unless swift action is taken to tackle the pandemic, up from a current 135 million.”
“That is nearly double the number in the newly published Global Report on Food Crises 2020, which estimates that 135 million people in 55 countries currently face acute hunger as a result chiefly of conflict, the effects of climate change, and economic crises,” WFP said.
“That report was drawn up prior to the emergence of COVID-19 as a pandemic, and the contrasting figures provide a startling insight into the devastating potential of this virus,” the report said, “Concern is highest for those in countries across Africa as well as the Middle East, as the virus threatens lives and livelihoods along with the trading networks they rely on for survival,” the report said.
“Trade barriers like export bans are extremely counterproductive and often backfire,” the report added.
WFP is also assessing where cash transfers can be distributed electronically in areas where food is readily available, and already works with governments on an ongoing basis to strengthen social protection systems, which are likely to feature cash as a default response during the pandemic.
Other measures include pre-positioning food closest to those most in need, while supply chains are still working, providing double rations to reduce the number of distributions, providing take-home rations to replace school meals, and launching health-education campaigns” the report added.