The coronavirus pandemic will cause multiple famines “of biblical proportions within a few short months”, the chief of the UN’s food relief agency has warned, plunging tens of millions into starvation unless immediate action is taken.
World Food Programme (WFP) executive director David Beasley said that even before the arrival of Covid-19, he had been warning world leaders 2020 would bring “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two”.
An annual WFP report published on Tuesday estimated that 135 million people face “crisis-level” hunger 2020, with Mr Beasley telling the UN security council that deepening crises such as those in Yemen and Syria, more frequent natural disasters and changing weather patterns meant the world was “already facing a perfect storm”.