The Oxfam report says that ever since Covid-19 Pandemic has started, deaths from hunger have been outpacing the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Also, the global military spending has increased by $51 billion, says Oxfam report during pandemic times. This amount exceeds by at least six times what the UN needs to stop hunger.
So let’s discuss the key points of Oxfam’s Hunger Virus:
- 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.
Way forward
Governments must provide funding to response to hunger and social protection programs to save lives, rather than striking arms deals that lead to conflict, war and hunger.