As per Oxfam report, ever since Covid-19 Pandemic started, deaths from hunger are outpacing the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Key Points
- Ongoing covid-19 pandemic along with the economic disruptions of the pandemic besides, escalating climate crisis have deepened poverty and catastrophic food insecurity across the hunger hotspots of the world.
- This has also led to the established strongholds in new epicentres of hunger.
- Situation could turn worst, unless governments urgently tackle food insecurity and its root causes.
- As per report, 11 people are likely dying every minute from acute hunger because of three Cs: conflict, Covid-19, and climate crisis. 3 Cs have pushed more than 520,000 people to brink of starvation.
- This rate of hunger related rate outpaces the covid-19 pandemic mortality rate, which is 7 people per minute.
- It highlights, 155 million people across the world are now living in crisis levels of food insecurity or worse. It has increased by 20 million as compared to 2020.
- Two third of the 155 million people face hunger because their country is in military conflict.
Increased Military Spending
Despite the deadly covid-19 pandemic, global military spending increased by $51 billion, Oxfam report underlines. This amount exceeds by at least six times what United Nations needs to stop hunger.
Way forward
Governments must urgently provide funding to response to hunger and social protection programs in order to save lives, rather than striking arms deals that lead to conflict, war and hunger.