Food security during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic–related famines
Map showing acute food insecurity forecasts for 2020
Acute food insecurity estimates for 2020 using the IPC scale
Date1 December 2019 (2019-12-01)–present
Duration4 years, 11 months and 3 weeks
Location
Multiple countries[1][2]
Full list see below
Cause2019–2021 locust infestation, ongoing armed conflicts, COVID-19 pandemic (including associated recession, lockdowns and travel restrictions)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity intensified in many places. In the second quarter of 2020, there were multiple warnings of famine later in the year.[3][4] In an early report, the Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Oxfam-International talks about "economic devastation"[5] while the lead-author of the UNU-WIDER report compared COVID-19 to a "poverty tsunami".[6] Others talk about "complete destitution",[7] "unprecedented crisis",[8] "natural disaster",[9] "threat of catastrophic global famine".[10] The decision of the WHO on 11 March 2020, to qualify COVID as a pandemic, that is "an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people" also contributed to building this global-scale disaster narrative.[11]

Field evidence collected in more than 60 countries in the course of 2020[12] indicate, however, that while some disruptions (affecting the stability of the global food system) were reported at local (hoarding) and international (restrictions on exports) levels, those took place primarily during the early days/weeks of the pandemic (and the subsequent waves of lockdowns) and did not lead to any major episode of "global famine", thus invalidating the catastrophic scenario that some experts had initially conjectured.

In September 2020, David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme, addressed the United Nations Security Council, stating that measures taken by donor countries over the course of the preceding five months, including the provision of $17 trillion in fiscal stimulus and central bank support, the suspension of debt repayments instituted by the IMF and G20 countries for the benefit of poorer countries, and donor support for WFP programmes, had averted impending famine, helping 270 million people at risk of starvation.[13] As the pandemic-incited food issues began to subside, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered another global food crises compounding already extreme price increases.[14][15][16][17][18]

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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Secretary-General Warns of Grim Post-Pandemic Future, Predicting 'Historic' Hunger, Famine, in Remarks to High-Level Event on Financing for Development – World". ReliefWeb. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. ^ Harvey, Fiona (21 April 2020). "Coronavirus pandemic 'will cause famine of biblical proportions'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  5. ^ Oxfam International. "Dignity not destitution - an 'Economic Rescue Plan For All' to tackle the Coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world" (PDF). Oxfam Media Briefing. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  6. ^ KCL King's College London. "Spotlight on COVID: Connecting patients and families during lockdown – Interview with Prof Andy Sumner". Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  7. ^ BBC. "COVID: Casey's poverty warning difficult to ignore". Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  8. ^ World Bank/IMF. "Decisive Action in an Unprecedented Crisis Development Committee World Bank – International Monetary Fund - 17th April 2020". Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  9. ^ Revet, S. "COVID-19: A Natural Disaster?". Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  10. ^ UN. "Amid threat of catastrophic global famine, COVID-19 response must prioritize food security, humanitarian needs, experts tell general assembly - Thirty-first Special Session, 2nd Meeting (resumed) 4th December 2020". United Nations.
  11. ^ Roubík, Hynek; Lošťák, Michal; Ketuama, Chama Theodore; Soukupová, Jana; Procházka, Petr; Hruška, Adam; Hakl, Josef; Pacek, Lukáš; Karlík, Petr; Menšíková, Lucie Kocmánková; Jurasová, Vladimíra; Ogbu, Charles Amarachi; Hejcman, Michal (31 July 2023). "COVID-19 crisis interlinkage with past pandemics and their effects on food security". Globalization and Health. 19 (1): 52. doi:10.1186/s12992-023-00952-7. ISSN 1744-8603. PMC 10391809. PMID 37525178.
  12. ^ Béné, C; Bakker, D; Chavarro Rodriguez, M; Even, B; Melo, J; Sonneveld, A (2021). Impacts of COVID-19 on people's food security: foundations for a more resilient food system. Report prepared for the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub Working Group 4, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research. IFPRI. p. 90.
  13. ^ "WFP Chief warns of grave dangers of economic impact of Coronavirus as millions are pushed further into hunger". World Food Programme. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
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