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Addressing the impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in food crises (April–December 2020)

FAO’s component of the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 (July update)

Year of publication 2020

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 4p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

ISBN 978-92-5-133058-6

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The world is standing on the precipice of the greatest food crisis in generations. Worldwide, people and their communities are reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which extend far beyond the direct health impacts. Food systems have been disrupted, informal employment all but stopped for millions, markets have closed and remittances have dried up and the most vulnerable have found themselves struggling to access sufficient food. Increasingly, as smallholders are unable to access the critical inputs they need to continue producing, food availability is emerging as a major concern. Conflict, weather extremes and pre-existing economic turbulence continue to push more people into acute hunger, exacerbated by the reverberations of the pandemic. The worst-case scenario of famine is inching closer to reality for millions of girls, boys, women and men, especially for the 27 million people that were already experiencing emergency levels of acute hunger before the pandemic. Responding to these challenges requires urgent action at scale. Critical agricultural seasons, livestock movements for pasture and water, food harvesting, processing and storage – these are not activities that can be put on hold as we tackle the health impacts of the pandemic. Without support, increasing numbers of people will be forced to abandon their livelihoods and rely on much more costly food assistance to survive. Anticipatory action now is not just more cost effective than waiting to rebuild livelihoods and communities later, it is more humane and respectful of the dignity of the billions of people relying on some form of agriculture for their livelihoods. This is at the heart of FAO’s response to the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. FAO’s programme focuses on four key components to save lives and livelihoods threatened by the pandemic, as follows: (i) rolling out data collection and analysis; (ii) ensuring availability of and stabilizing access to food for the most acutely food-insecure populations; (iii) ensuring continuity of the critical food supply chain for the most vulnerable populations; and (iv) ensuring food supply chain actors are not at risk of virus transmission.

Revised 17 July 2020 See the full list of policy briefs related to COVID-19.

Cite this content as:

​FAO. 2020. Addressing the impacts of COVID-19 in food crises (April-December 2020): FAO’s component of the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 (July update). Rome.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cb0223en

Language English

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