WHO IS MOST THREATENED BY THEIR FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC?
Currently, some 820 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger, that is, they do not consume enough caloric energy to
lead a normal life. Of these, 113 million face severe acute food insecurity, a famine so severe that it poses an immediate threat to
their lives or their livelihoods and makes them dependent on external aid to get ahead. These people cannot afford any other
interruption to their livelihoods or access to food that COVID-19 may entail.
The consequences could be dramatic if COVID-19 cases - already present in more than 100 countries - proliferate in the 44 that
need external food aid, or in the 53 countries where 113 million people who suffer from acute hunger live, and where in many
cases their public health systems may have limited capacity.
Indeed. FAO is particularly concerned about the effects of the pandemic on vulnerable countries that are already fighting hunger or
have been affected by other crises - the desert locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa, insecurity in the Yemen or the Sahel, for
example - and in countries that rely heavily on food imports, such as small island developing states, and those that rely on primary
exports, such as oil.
Who is most threatened by their food security and livelihoods due to the pandemic?
Currently, some 820 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger, that is, they do not consume enough caloric energy to
lead a normal life. Of these, 113 million face severe acute food insecurity, a famine so severe that it poses an immediate threat to
their lives or their livelihoods and makes them dependent on external aid to get ahead. These people cannot afford any other
interruption to their livelihoods or access to food that COVID-19 may entail.
The consequences could be dramatic if COVID-19 cases - already present in more than 100 countries - proliferate in the 44 that
need external food aid, or in the 53 countries where 113 million people who suffer from acute hunger live, and where in many
cases their public health systems may have limited capacity.
Indeed, FAO is particularly concerned about the effects of the pandemic on vulnerable countries that are already fighting hunger or
have been affected by other crises - the desert locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa, insecurity in the Yemen or the Sahel, for
example - and in countries that rely heavily on food imports, such as small island developing states, and those that rely on primary
exports, such as oil.
Vulnerable groups also include small farmers, who may be prevented from working on their land, accessing markets to
sell their produce, or buying seeds and other essential inputs, and who will face difficulties due to rising food prices and
for its limited purchasing power. We must also include millions of children who are already missing the school lunches
on which they depend.
For example, in Latin America and the Caribbean, FAO-supported school lunch programs benefit 85 million children,
and are vital for some 10 million of them, as these lunches are one of their most reliable sources of food for diary.
Suspending pandemic school canteen programs jeopardizes the food security and nutrition of vulnerable children, while
undermining their ability to cope with disease.
We also know from previous health crises that these can have a drastic effect on food security, especially for vulnerable
communities.
Quarantines and panic during the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Sierra Leone (2014-2016), for example, led to
increased hunger and malnutrition. The suffering worsened as the movement restrictions caused both the labor
shortage at the time of harvesting and the impossibility of other farmers to bring their products to the market. The
systemic effect was similar to that of an earthquake, highlighting that risk prevention and reduction strategies are now
paramount
mi httn:lanan fan ara/2019-ncovla-and-ales/
Respuestas
Respuesta:
Currently, some 820 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger, that is, they do not consume enough caloric energy to
lead a normal life. Of these, 113 million face severe acute food insecurity, a famine so severe that it poses an immediate threat to
their lives or their livelihoods and makes them dependent on external aid to get ahead. These people cannot afford any other
interruption to their livelihoods or access to food that COVID-19 may entail.
The consequences could be dramatic if COVID-19 cases - already present in more than 100 countries - proliferate in the 44 that
need external food aid, or in the 53 countries where 113 million people who suffer from acute hunger live, and where in many
cases their public health systems may have limited capacity.
Indeed. FAO is particularly concerned about the effects of the pandemic on vulnerable countries that are already fighting hunger or
have been affected by other crises - the desert locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa, insecurity in the Yemen or the Sahel, for
example - and in countries that rely heavily on food imports, such as small island developing states, and those that rely on primary
exports, such as oil.
Who is most threatened by their food security and livelihoods due to the pandemic?
Currently, some 820 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger, that is, they do not consume enough caloric energy to
lead a normal life. Of these, 113 million face severe acute food insecurity, a famine so severe that it poses an immediate threat to
their lives or their livelihoods and makes them dependent on external aid to get ahead. These people cannot afford any other
interruption to their livelihoods or access to food that COVID-19 may entail.
The consequences could be dramatic if COVID-19 cases - already present in more than 100 countries - proliferate in the 44 that
need external food aid, or in the 53 countries where 113 million people who suffer from acute hunger live, and where in many
cases their public health systems may have limited capacity.
Indeed, FAO is particularly concerned about the effects of the pandemic on vulnerable countries that are already fighting hunger or
have been affected by other crises - the desert locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa, insecurity in the Yemen or the Sahel, for
example - and in countries that rely heavily on food imports, such as small island developing states, and those that rely on primary
exports, such as oil.
Vulnerable groups also include small farmers, who may be prevented from working on their land, accessing markets to
sell their produce, or buying seeds and other essential inputs, and who will face difficulties due to rising food prices and
for its limited purchasing power. We must also include millions of children who are already missing the school lunches
on which they depend.
For example, in Latin America and the Caribbean, FAO-supported school lunch programs benefit 85 million children,
and are vital for some 10 million of them, as these lunches are one of their most reliable sources of food for diary.
Suspending pandemic school canteen programs jeopardizes the food security and nutrition of vulnerable children, while
undermining their ability to cope with disease.
We also know from previous health crises that these can have a drastic effect on food security, especially for vulnerable
communities.
Quarantines and panic during the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Sierra Leone (2014-2016), for example, led to
increased hunger and malnutrition. The suffering worsened as the movement restrictions caused both the labor
shortage at the time of harvesting and the impossibility of other farmers to bring their products to the market. The
systemic effect was similar to that of an earthquake, highlighting that risk prevention and reduction strategies are now
paramount
mi httn:lanan fan ara/2019-ncovla-and-ales/
:'c