The United Nations has warned nations of the world to prepare for global famines of ‘biblical proportions’ due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic while naming Nigeria amongst a list of top ten countries at risk of an all out famine.
According to the executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, in a matter of months the pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation and in a worst case scenario famines will occur “about three dozen countries”.
According to the UN, ten out of those three dozen countries already have more than 1 million people close to starvation.
According to the UNWFP Director Beasley (pictured above), vast food shortages will occur due to factors like conflict, economic recession, a decline in aid and a collapse in oil prices.
“While dealing with a Covid-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic,” David Beasley told the UN’s security council.
“There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of Covid-19 than from the virus itself.”
The agency identified 55 countries, with ten being singled as mostly at risk of a ‘hunger pandemic’. The ten countries include Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria and Haiti.
According to the UN Agency, these countries apart from being at risk of entering famine have fragile healthcare systems which make them unable to cope with the impact of the virus.
“These countries may face an excruciating trade-off between saving lives or livelihoods or, in a worst-case scenario, saving people from the coronavirus to have them die from hunger,” the report said.
“Lockdowns and economic recession are expected to lead to a major loss of income among the working poor,” Beasley said. Overseas remittances will also drop sharply, affecting countries such as Haiti, Nepal, and Somalia, for example.
“The loss of tourism receipts will damage countries such as Ethiopia (and) the collapsing oil prices in lower-income countries like South Sudan will have an impact significantly,” he added.
He appealed to UN member states to act now, telling them: “There are no famines yet. But I must warn you that if we don’t prepare and act now — to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade — we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months.
“The truth is, we do not have time on our side, so let’s act wisely — and let’s act fast,” he added. “I do believe that with our expertise and partnerships, we can bring together the teams and the programs necessary to make certain the Covid-19 pandemic does not become a humanitarian and food crisis catastrophe.”
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