What is the impact of covid19 on food security
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Answer:
The COVID-19 pandemic is a health and human crisis threatening the food security and nutrition of millions of people around the world. Hundreds of millions of people were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition before the virus hit and, unless immediate action is taken, we could see a global food emergency. In the longer term, the combined effects of COVID-19 itself, as well as corresponding mitigation measures and the emerging global recession could, without large-scale coordinated action, disrupt the functioning of food systems. Such disruption can result in consequences for health and nutrition of a severity and scale unseen for more than half a century.
The pandemic hits us at a time of immense global challenges. We need to tackle all the food security and nutrition dimensions of this crisis. Addressing the COVID crisis requires us to work together across sectors and borders both to mitigate the immediate impacts and to reshape food systems so they support healthy diets for all and do more to make food production and consumption aligned to sustainable development.
Measures to control or mitigate COVID19 outbreaks are already affecting global food supply chains. Border restrictions and lockdowns are, for example, slowing harvests in some parts of the world, leaving millions of seasonal workers without livelihoods, while also constraining transport of food to markets. Meat processing plants and food markets are being forced to close in many locations due to serious COVID-19 outbreaks among workers. Farmers have been burying perishable produce or dumping milk as a result of supply chain disruption and falling consumer demand. As a result, many people in urban centres now struggle to access fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat and fish.
Global markets in staple grains remain robust for now; following good harvests in 2019, stocks of most staple foods are adequate. Yet the vast majority of the world’s population takes its food from local markets, and food security and nutrition remain highly susceptible to disruption.2 High levels of unemployment, loss of income, and rising food costs are also making access to food difficult for many. Prices of basic foods have begun to rise in some countries at a time when people have less money in their pockets.
Prior to the onset of this pandemic, more than 820 million people were already identified as chronically food insecure. The latest data shows that the food security of 135 million people was categorised as crisis level or worse.3 That number could nearly double before the end of the year due to the impacts of COVID-19.4 Similarly, the number of children under the age of five years who are stunted now stands at 144 million. That is more than one in five children worldwide. The number of children who are classified as wasting is currently 47 million.5 These numbers could grow rapidly. As of late May, 368 million school children were missing out on daily school meals on which they depend6. The pandemic could push about 49 million people into extreme poverty in 2020.7 Each percentage point drop in global GDP is expected to result in an additional 0.7 million stunted children.8 These income effects combined with other supply shocks could lead to a rapid increase in the number of people acutely food or nutrition insecure in the coming three to four months.
Actors in all parts of the food system are impacted by this pandemic. Deep global economic shocks caused by COVID-19 will impact the cash flow and financial liquidity of producers, small and medium agri-businesses to financial institutions, due to inhibited production capacity, limited market access, loss of remittances, lack of employment, and unexpected medical costs. As countries continue to roll out sizable relief and stimulus packages, the needs of food system actors deserve focused attention.