Starvation is one of the most serious consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the new report from NGO Oxfam, published on July 9, 2021, the number of people suffering from hunger has increased sixfold since the pandemic began.
Currently, seven people die every minute of the pandemic around the world. But NGO Oxfam is sounding the alarm. The number of people living under starvation has increased six times since the pandemic began, reaching more than 520,000 people. She questions what she calls “the 3 Cs”, such as conflicts, Covid-19 and the climate crisis.
The pandemic and containment measures have slowed economic activity and caused mass insecurity. In addition, there are border closures that continue to disrupt deliveries to certain countries such as Yemen and Haiti. All these measures have led to a 40% increase in food prices since last year. Which makes it the largest food inflation of the decade.
Disturbing situation in the Sahel
The NGO is particularly concerned in areas most affected by the conflict, such as Burkina Faso and northern Nigeria. The escalation of violence, especially in the Lake Chad basin, has led to more than 5 million people fleeing.
The Sahel region is experiencing one of the most serious food crises in the world, with 1.6 million children currently suffering from acute malnutrition. The floods, nearly twice as many in five years, destroyed homes and wiped out crops and herds of nearly two million people last year.
Rising military budgets
Oxfam regrets that governments do not prioritize the fight against hunger when the budget for military spending increases. Mali, for example, has imported seven times more weapons in the last five years than at the beginning of the decade.
For Hélène Botreau, spokeswoman for Oxfam, “we must stop the conflicts, especially during this period of pandemic where we need states to focus on important services, on social protection”. According to her, “the budget for military spending, the resources to buy weapons, while the resources to respond to the food crisis are not increasing fast enough at the same time”.
The NGO expects governments to take action at the next World Security Committee, which will be held in Rome next October.
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