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The toxic cocktail of climate change, conflict and COVID-19 is being felt most intensely in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. As a result, a record 235 million people everyone will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021, a 40% increase from last year.
It can be difficult to understand those numbers. But behind the statistics are individual human lives. For the most vulnerable people, the side effects of the pandemic, not the coronavirus itself, will do the most damage. And the hunger pandemic triggered by COVID-19 threatens to be the biggest killer.
The number of chronically hungry people increased by an estimated 130 million last year, to more than 800 million or so Eight times the total number of COVID-19 cases to date. Countries affected by conflict and climate change are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. Empty stomachs can atrophy entire generations.
Furthermore, the specter of multiple famines looms just as government budgets are hit by efforts to protect populations and economies from the pandemic. International solidarity to help prevent such disasters may seem like a tough sell right now. But preventing hunger and food insecurity is a smart investment for everyone.
Still, we need to make sure we get the most out of every dollar we spend. That is why the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank (WB) are increasingly investing in an anticipatory approach to humanitarian needs. It has become increasingly clear that acting early to address humanitarian needs before a crisis is more effective, dignified and profitable than waiting until a disaster strikes. This strategy also protects hard-earned development gains.
For example, in Bangladesh last year, the UN and the Red Cross / Red Crescent provided cash to vulnerable people so they could save themselves and their livestock before the devastating floods struck. This effort cost half of what it would have cost to collect the pieces later, and helped more people.
We are applying a similar proactive approach to the growing hunger pandemic; acting before food emergencies turn into full-blown famines. This involves addressing the long-term drivers of food insecurity, including vulnerability to extreme weather and pests, low incomes, fragile value chains, and conflict to prevent further crises in the future.
In line with this objective, the International Development Association (IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries) committed $ 5.3 billion for food security in the six months between April and October 2020. This sum comprised a short-term COVID-19 combination. responses and investments to address the long-term causes of food insecurity.
In Bangladesh, the WB redirected resources from an existing project to provide, among other things, cash transfers to 620,000 vulnerable small-scale poultry and dairy farming households. In Haiti, where remittances were expected to decline as a result of the pandemic, IDA provided farmers with seeds and fertilizers to safeguard future crops and supported small irrigation projects that increase long-term resilience. IDA has also expanded its Crisis Response Window to include $ 500 million in funding dedicated to responding during the early stages of slow-onset food security crises and disease outbreaks.
Additionally, in June 2020, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund provided funding to help prevent a food crisis in Somalia. Acting ahead of the threefold threat locusts, floods and COVID-19 reduced the risk of disease outbreaks. By improving drilling wells early, the UN avoided disputes over water sources, kept livestock healthier, improved household finances, boosted mental health, and prevented large-scale population displacement.
The development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 means that the world will soon begin to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. But for many of the most vulnerable countries, the crisis will have deep and long-lasting consequences on incomes, health, nutrition, education and the economy as a whole.
Quick action can make the hangover less painful. We need to focus today on monitoring risks and aggravating factors, and emphasize effective early action and long-term investment to avoid much higher costs in the future.
Acting now on the danger signs is the smart, moral and profitable strategy. By working together to save and transform lives, we can free the world’s most vulnerable people from crippling hunger and insecurity and lay the foundation for a better future for all.
Mark Lowcock is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Axel van Trotsenburg is Managing Director of Operations for the World Bank. The opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Reporter.
Contributed by Mark Lowcock and Axel van Trotsenburg
