The coronavirus pandemic risks worsening in 2020 the situation of populations on the brink of starvation, already increasing sharply in 2019, warns a UN report.
Some 135 million people around the world in 55 countries affected by conflict and climate problems were in a situation acute food insecurity
in 2019, said the 2020 global food crisis report, released Tuesday April 21 by various UN agencies and international donors.
Extreme climate and economic shocks
This is the highest figure in four years since this study, presented Tuesday to the Security Council by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) .
In 2019, Africa is still paying the heaviest toll, with 73 million people affected, more than half.
Among the countries most affected by this scourge, South Sudan (61%), Yemen (53%) and Afghanistan (37%), among others.
Conflicts were still the main driver of food crises in 2019, but extreme weather conditions and economic shocks have become increasingly severe
, says the report, which warns of the aggravating factor that could constitute the coronavirus.
“Increased from 112 to 123 million”
The increase of 22 million people affected compared to the 2019 edition takes into account the addition of additional countries or regions, but by comparing the 50 countries that were in the 2019 and 2020 reports, the population in crisis went from 112 to 123 million
, say the authors of the report.
Worsening food insecurity, notably noticeable in conflict zones such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, or countries affected by worsening drought or their economic situation, such as Haiti, Pakistan and Zimbabwe .
On the economic front, the situation could worsen very quickly for the 55 countries affected by these food crises and listed in the report, given the coronavirus epidemic.
These have a very limited or even non-existent capacity to cope with both health and economic consequences
of this crisis, says an introductory remark that sounds like an alert.
Hot spot on rice
In addition to the logistical problems caused by this crisis, which threatens the supply of the countries listed in the report, the coronavirus pandemic could increase the level of food insecurity in other countries
said the report, which cites oil-exporting countries in particular, as black gold suffered a historic plunge this week.
A statement in unison with that made by the NGO Oxfam, on Tuesday. According to her, in West Africa, the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic added to the problems of drought and insecurity in the region could cause a near tripling of the number of people at risk of hunger, 50 million in August against 17 million in June.
Among the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) countries are some of the largest rice importers in the world, who must have watched with concern the ups and downs of this market in recent weeks.
This staple food recently experienced a soaring
prices, said Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at FAO.
Vietnam, 3rd world exporter, had practically imposed an export embargo
, recalled Arnaud Saulais, broker to the Swiss company SCB, who underlines that this embargo coincided with a paralysis of the Indian port facilities due to the containment measures.
As a result, the price of Thai rice, the only one remaining on the market, rose quickly to € 570 per tonne, before falling back to € 525, after a partial reopening of the Vietnamese market last week, a breath of fresh air for importing countries. .
The price issue is important, but there are many other issues to consider
, says Abdolreza Abbassian.
– .
