Hunger, more likely to kill 12,000 persons per day than COVID-19- Oxfam

…..as hunger level likely to rise to 270 million before end of 2020

By Unekwuojo. O

July 28, 2020- International Organisation, Oxfam has said up to 120,000 people could die per day from the impact of hunger before the end of the year, more than those who will die from the disease.

Oxfam in a newsletter on Tuesday has however called for urgent actions to address the “hunger Pandemic” linked to the social and economic impacts of the Coronavirus.

The Organisation said that the world is on the brink of a “hunger pandemic” as coronavirus threatens to push millions into starvation.

Oxfam says it is estimated that the number of people in crisis level hunger will rise to 270 million before the end of the year, an 82% increase since 2019.

“In our deeply unequal world, millions of people are living in, and dying from, hunger every year.

“If we don’t act now, up to 12,000 people per day could die from hunger linked to the social and economic impacts of the pandemic before the end of the year.

“Perhaps more than will die each day from the disease.”

According to Oxfam, the coronavirus pandemic has added fuel to the fire of the growing crisis.

It added that combined with ongoing conflicts, spiraling inequality, and an escalating climate crisis, it has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, leaving millions more on the brink of starvation.

The organization further stated that Coronavirus is deepening the hunger crisis in the world’s 10 hunger hotspots, places such as Venezuela and South Sudan where the food crisis is most severe and getting worse as a result of the pandemic.

“It is also creating new epicenters of hunger across the globe ― middle income countries such as India, South Africa, and Brazil,” Oxfam says.

Since the pandemic started, Oxfam says it has reached 4.5 million of the world’s most vulnerable people with food and clean water, working together with over 344 partners across 62 countries.