Faulty food systems laid bare by COVID-19, climate crises Source: Reuters Published: 2020/12/28 17:33:39 From wildfires in California and locust attacks in Ethiopia to job losses caused by pandemic lockdowns in Italy and Myanmar, climate change and COVID-19 disrupted food production and tipped millions more people into hunger in 2020.
Now there are fears the situation could worsen in 2021 as both the coronavirus crisis and wild weather exacerbate fragile conditions linked to conflicts and poverty in many parts of the globe, aid officials told Reuters. Even before COVID-19 hit, 135 million people were marching towards the brink of starvation. This could double to 270 million within a few short months, warned David Beasley, head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), in emailed comments.
Peace and zero hunger go hand in hand
Prince Faisal bin Farhan & David Beasley
December 28, 2020 01:23
About 300 children gather at Coronationville Secondary School as they wait for a food and goods distribution ahead of Christmas, lead by the grassroots charity Hunger Has No Religion, in Coronationville, Johannesburg, on December 23, 2020. (AFP)
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The resurgence of hunger is one of the greatest problems we face today. A toxic mix of widespread civil war, poverty, and COVID-19 threatens to bring mass starvation on an unprecedented scale. Sadly, ending hunger and malnutrition is the one UN Sustainable Development Goal on which we have failed to make progress in recent years.