Oxfam has released troubling new data on world hunger; At least 11 people die of hunger each minute. In addition, famine like conditions across the globe have increased 6 times over since last year. The report they have released is titled “The Hunger Virus Multiplies” and it states that the number of deaths due to hunger per minute is more than the number of deaths due to Covid-19 per minute.
Oxfam has also stated that 155 million people around the world now live at crisis levels of food insecurity. This is around 20 million more than last year’s levels.
Military conflict is a key reason identified for world hunger, with around 2/3rd’s of the total countries struggling with hunger crisis facing military conflicts. Oxfam added onto this by stating that global military spending increased by $51 billion during the pandemic.
“Today, unrelenting conflict on top of the COVID-19 economic fallout, and a worsening climate crisis, has pushed more than 520,000 people to the brink of starvation. Instead of battling the pandemic, warring parties fought each other, too often landing the last blow to millions already battered by weather disasters and economic shocks”- said Oxfam America’s President and CEO Abby Maxman.
The report also identifies global warming and economic repercussions of the pandemic to be key factors in the worsening of the hunger crisis. Both have caused a 40% increase in global food prices which is the highest in over a decade. According to the report such a surge has contributed significantly to pushing millions of people into hunger.
The organisation in its statement, urged governments to acknowledge and put a stop to “catastrophic hunger” by putting an end to state funded military conflicts. Relief in conflict zones must also be ensured so as to reach those in need. It also called on donor countries to fund the U.N.’s efforts to alleviate hunger.
Read: World Bank: Coronavirus pushed around 100 Million People into extreme poverty
