Towards famine

The Covid-19 crisis and its aftermath could lead to tens of thousands of people around the globe moving towards a crisis worse than that brought by the virus itself. According to the World Food Programme, which has won the Nobel Prize for Peace this year, the coming hunger could be worse than anything brought by Covid-19. The organisation warns that up to 270 million people around the globe could face hunger due to wars, tensions, food shortages, crises of various kinds within countries and other problems. The WFP globally feeds millions of people and believes this number could rise from one year to the next.

Indeed, even in the US, one of the most developed and wealthiest nations in the world, hunger is on the rise – and affecting children the worst. At present, according to organisations monitoring the situation, one in four children could go hungry because of the lack of jobs, the economic meltdown and the fact that children are no longer going to school and instead attending school online, which means they cannot benefit from the food programmes available at schools for children of their age. While some schools have continued to distribute food to children, or given out cards which can be used to purchase food, it is not always possible for parents who work or for those whose children are too young to be left at home while they work to collect these food benefits. The problem is that more and more Americans are dependent on food aid from food banks of various kinds including those set up at schools and churches by different non-profit organisations.

Experts believe that the Trump administration has been at least partially responsible for this problem by failing to take heed of the massive surge in the Covid-19 crisis before it hit the country in full swing and caused massive disarray within it. There is also a problem facing agriculture and agricultural growth, which will make it especially vital for the incoming administration of Joe Biden to ensure agriculture can be looked after and food production brought back to normal. But till then, people will continue to suffer. Already, according to a survey about 12 percent of Americans say that they sometimes do not receive enough food in their homes and nine percent mothers say their children under five are deprived of sufficient nutrition. The problem is worse in many other countries. It will have to be overcome if we are to keep the world safe and prevent children who are young enough to suffer permanently as a result of food crisis from facing long-term problems.