Up to 132 million more people may go hungry in 2020, in addition to the 690 million who went hungry last year, due to the lockdowns and other measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic across the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

 

Deep budget cuts to education and rising poverty caused by the pandemic could force at least 9.7 million children out of school forever by the end of this year, with millions more falling behind in learning, said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a media breifing.

 

"Although Covid-19 has rightly captured the world’s attention, we must also remember it is not the only crisis the world is facing. Many countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East, are still reeling from years of conflict and other humanitarian crises. Covid-19 threatens to exacerbate many of these crises," he said.

 

The economic impact of the pandemic in humanitarian settings can aggravate already dire living conditions – more displacement, food shortages, risk of malnutrition, decrease in access to essential services, mental health problems, and so on.

 

WHO is working through our 150 country offices to support the response to Covid-19, to support the continuity of essential health services, and to engage communities to ensure demand for these services is maintained, he said.

 

"It’s also vital that as an international community, we use this opportunity not only to respond to the pandemic, but to build health systems that are more resilient, and more able to withstand the impact of health emergencies.

 

"The pandemic is teaching us that health is not a luxury item; it’s the foundation of social, economic and political stability," he added.

 

"Three months ago, WHO launched its updated Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, which estimates the resources needed to support WHO’s work on the pandemic. But we all know that the impacts of the pandemic go far beyond health, and so do the needs, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable countries. That’s why the UN launched the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for Covid-19 in March.

 

The Global Humanitarian Response Plan addresses the immediate humanitarian needs caused or exacerbated by Covid-19 in 63 priority countries with existing humanitarian crises, he said.

 

"If we fail to address the wider impacts of the pandemic, we risk an even greater crisis than the one brought about by the virus itself," he added. - TradeArabia News Service