What Does Covid-19 Crisis Mean for Rural Development?

David Lewis is professor of social policy and development at the London School of Economics & Political Science By David LewisLONDON, Apr 22 2020 (IPS) The implications and consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are playing out before us. Much of the news coverage of the to date in both the Global North and the Global South has understandably focused on the horrifying impact of the disease on urban communities, where it is clearly hitting people, and economies, hardest. David LewisBut what are the implications for people in rural areas, where just under a half of the world’s population live, and where the largest concentrations of the poorest and most food insecure people are still to be found?What conclusions should we be drawing, and how will we be thinking about research and policy in the future? We should not be in any doubt that rural livelihoods are being and will continue to be severely affected. The chief executive of US NGO Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is today reported as saying ‘Lockdowns are hampering people from planting and selling crops, working as day labourer and selling products, among other problems. That means less income for desperately hungry people to buy food and less food available, at higher prices.’ The immediate response challenge is to provide humanitarian support to those people most at risk, drawing on and adapting existing social protection systems as much as possible. This needs to be a cooperative effort in which governments, non-gove...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Food & Agriculture Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news