Edited News | WFP
WFP: Tens of millions more people to go hungry in Africa this year because of Covid-19
A near doubling of food-insecure people in West and Central Africa -- up to 57,6 million from 36 million -- is expected by the end of 2020 as a result of measures necessary to contain the spread of Covid-19, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced today.
With border closures and suspension of open-air markets in countries across the region, farmers have been prevented from selling their products, sometimes leading to localized food scarcity and increased prices.
Of the people most at risk for food insecurity, 23 million live in Africa’s most populous nation: Nigeria. A further 10 percent are in Niger, with some 5 percent in Burkina Faso, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Mali and Senegal.
“Price increases of between 15-20 percent were observed in April in the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria”, WFP spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs said. “In Liberia, the price of fresh cassava, which is the main staple, spiked to 60 percent – five times higher than in the past five years”.
Another aggravating factor is the current lean season, the period between June and August. In agricultural regions of many developing countries, it is the dangerous period between planting and harvesting when job opportunities are scarce and incomes plummet. Food stocks dwindle and poor families regularly skip meals.
“COVID-19 unfolds at the peak of the lean season when hunger and malnutrition are the most severe”, WFP’s spokesperson said. “Even before the pandemic, over 21 million people were estimated to struggle to meet their food needs”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also a heavy impact on children’s nutrition. Before the outbreak, 4.5 million children were anticipated to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2020 in the six countries of the Sahel region: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. Today, with growing insecurity and COVID-19, that number has jumped to almost 5.4 million children, according to UNICEF and WFP.
“WFP and UNICEF estimate that 11.6 million children will be acutely malnourished in the region in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic, an 18 percent increase on pre-COVID levels”, WFP’s Byrs said. WFP requires an additional US$ 770 million to provide crucial assistance for the next six months in West and Central Africa, she added.
“WFP plans to assist 23 million people in the region with lifesaving food and nutrition support and this is an 8.9 million increase from the initial plan at the start of the year”, Byrs said.
1. Wide shot: exterior, UN Geneva flag alley
2. Wide shot: Podium Press room, UN Geneva
3. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Elisabeth Byrs, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “WFP estimates that the number of food insecure people in the region could more than double to 57.6 million by the end of the year – up from the 36 million before COVID-19”.
4. Wide shot: Press Room
5. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Elisabeth Byrs, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Price increases of between 15-25 percent were observed in April in the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria. In Liberia, the price of fresh cassava, which is the main staple, spiked by 60 percent – five times higher than in the past five years”.
6. Medium shot: Journalists in press room
7. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Elisabeth Byrs, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “COVID-19 unfolds at the peak of the lean season when hunger and malnutrition are the most severe. Even before the pandemic, over 21 million people were estimated to struggle to meet their food needs”.
8. Medium shot: journalist
9. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Elisabeth Byrs, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “WFP and UNICEF estimate that 11.6 million children will be acutely malnourished in the region in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic, an 18 percent increase on pre-COVID levels”.
10. Medium shot: journalists
11. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Elisabeth Byrs, Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “WFP plans to assist 23 million people in the region with lifesaving food and nutrition support and this is an 8.9 million increase from the initial plan at the start of the year”.
12. Close up : hands typing
13. Medium shot: journalist
14. Wide shot: journalist and screen
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
2
1
2
Statements , Edited News | HRC
Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNOG
Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on Palestinians killed seeking food in Gaza
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Iran-Israel war: UN rights office concerned over strike on Tehran prison, reported espionage arrests
Tehran’s notorious Evin prison known for holding dissidents should not be a target, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday, a day after a reported Israeli strike on the complex.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
Death and suffering in Gaza are ever-present and the enclave's people now have little choice but to risk their lives to fetch aid supplies, UN agencies said on Friday. “I met a little boy who was wounded by a tank shell at one of these sites on the final day of me leaving Gaza - I learnt that this little boy had since died of those injuries,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder. “That speaks to both what is happening at these sites and what is not happening when it comes to medical evacuations.”
1
1
1
Edited News | UNCTAD
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched today the World Investment Report 2025. Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 11%, marking the second consecutive year of decline and confirming a deepening slowdown in productive capital flows, according to the report.
1
1
1
Edited News
Afghan journalist Zahra Nader fled twice due to Taliban rule, highlighting severe women's rights issues.