The UN food relief agency has warned that the world is on the brink of a "hunger pandemic" and could face multiple famines of biblical proportions within few months if nations don't act now to avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade due to COVID-19, which continues to spread unabated.
The novel coronavirus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last, has so far infected over 2,565,290 people and claimed
Noting that the global spread of COVID-19 this year has sparked "the worst humanitarian crisis since World War-II", Beasley pointed to deepening crises, more frequent natural disasters and changing weather patterns, saying, "We're already facing a perfect storm."
He stressed, "We do not have time on our side, so let's act wisely and let's act fast."
While conflicts, extreme weather, desert locusts, economic shocks and now COVID-19, are likely to "push more people into acute food insecurity", Qu said there is a ray of hope and "by closely monitoring the evolution of these shocks, we can rapidly intervene to mitigate their impacts"
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