COVID-19 Linked Hunger Could Cause More Deaths Than The Disease Itself, New Report Finds

Disruption to food production and supplies due to COVID-19 could cause more deaths from starvation than the disease itself, according to an Oxfam report published today. The report found that 121 million more people could be “pushed to the brink of starvation this year” as a result of disruption to food production and supplies, diminishing aid as well as mass unemployment. The report estimates that COVID-19 related hunger could cause 12,000 deaths per day: the peak global mortality rate for COVID-19 in April was 10,000 deaths per day. “COVID-19 is the last straw for millions of people already struggling with the impacts of conflict, climate change, inequality and a broken food system that has impoverished millions of food producers and workers,” said Oxfam’s Interim Executive Director Chema Vera in a press release. Oxfam says Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Afghanistan, Venezuela, the West African Sahel, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Haiti are “extreme hunger hotspots” that are likely to be severely affected by the pandemic. Already, many people are facing starvation as a result of lockdown measures. Yemen, for instance, which relies heavily on food imports, has seen a spike in food prices as a result of supply route and border closures. In India, travel restrictions inhibited migrant labours from working on farms, leaving many crops to rot. Around the world, however, women and women-headed households are more...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news