Covid-19 has kicked off a global hunger crisis

Before the pandemic, millions of people across the globe experienced food insecurity, but the economic catastrophe set off by Covid-19 is pushing them further over the edge, The New York Times reports. A June 2021 analysis from the United Nations’ anti-hunger agency, the World Food Program, found that an estimated 270 million people are expected to face potentially life-threatening food shortages this year—compared to 150 million before the pandemic. More recently, in a joint report last week with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program warned that “conflict, the economic repercussions of Covid-19, and the climate crisis are expected to drive higher levels of acute food insecurity in 23 hunger hot spots over the next four months.” The situation is particularly dire in vulnerable countries in Africa and Central America, as well as Afghanistan and North Korea.