Coronavirus cases so far have mounted up to 2.8 million, and the death toll is just shy of 200,000 mark – and while these numbers indicate a catastrophe on their own, there is another aspect of this pandemic which is not being discussed.
United Nations has warned that multiple famines of “biblical proportions” are on our way. It has been estimated that within a year, more than 1 billion people will be starving.
There are two big reasons behind a global famine
One of the worst outcomes of the Coronavirus lockdown is that it has pushed the daily wage workers without any earnings, and they have reached the brink of starvation.
Other than that farmers have begun to suffer since they are not able to get fertilizers and equipment for agriculture, and food supply is really really going to suffer.
There will be a shortage of food even if you can afford it
Millions of tons of fresh food such as fruits and vegetables have been spoiled since they couldn’t be delivered to markets in time. Even the food material with a relatively long life such as potatoes, onions, corn, rice, and wheat – they are stuck inside farmers’ storage facilities due to lack of transport.
Another problem is that since factories are shut down, farmers will have a hard time procuring seeds and fertilizers. It will also be difficult for farmers to access equipment and machinery which are used in agriculture.
The problem of self-isolating also comes to farmers, and if they start doing that then the world will run out of food within weeks.
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There will be 1 billion people in the world with nothing to eat for a year
According to data by the World Food Programme(WFP), there are 821 million people who are chronically starved. That means they survive on an average of less than one meal per day.
Since they have been pushed out of daily wage jobs, they have been left without savings and any stocked food – and this will drive nearly 270 million more people into starvation, taking the toll over 1 billion. As David Beasly, the executive director of WFP said to the UN Security Council:
“While dealing with a Covid-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic. There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of Covid-19 than from the virus itself.”
The number of starving people has increased in 2020
WFP has released data that the wars waged by the alliance of America and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, along with numerous faction wars going on in different countries have already pushed 135 million people into starvation.
And that is data just for the first three months of 2020, and after Coronavirus the numbers are projected to double.
Countries like USA and India will suffer the worst
While the older data reveals starvation will be rampant in smaller and poorer countries. Coronavirus lockdown has shown the reality which we didn’t notice before.
Nearly 500 million Indians, that is 40% of India’s population – work below minimum wage and they all are out of income for foreseeable future. They have reached such a stage where they are relying on their emergency savings, and a significant portion of them are forced to eat grass.
Similarly, 41 million people in the US go hungry every night – that is 12.5% of the population (1 person in every 8 people). These numbers are only expected to multiply as the lockdown continues.
Featured Image Courtesy: WFP