UN appeal warns of famine and unrest

The United Nations yesterday called on governments, companies and billionaires to contribute to a US$6.7 billion (NZ$10.9b) fund for immediate needs in fighting the coronavirus pandemic in vulnerable countries, warning a failure to help could lead to a “hunger pandemic”, famine, riots and more conflict.

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said “Covid-19 has now affected every country and almost every person on the planet”.

He said the UN’s initial US$2b appeal unveiled on March 25 was being increased because there was already evidence of incomes plummeting and jobs disappearing, food supplies falling and prices soaring, and children missing vaccinations and meals. He added the peak of the pandemic isn’t expected to hit the world’s poorest countries for three to six months.

Lowcock said in a video briefing launching the new appeal that the poorest countries face “a double whammy” — the health impact of Covid-19 and “the impact of the global recession and the domestic measures taken to contain the virus”.

“We must be prepared for a rise in conflict, hunger, poverty and disease as economies contract, export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear, and health systems are put under strain. Lockdowns and economic recession may mean a hunger pandemic ahead for millions.”

World Food Programme executive director David Beasley said there were two keys to averting the possibility of 265 million people being on the brink of famine by the end of the year: providing money and keeping supply chains running smoothly.

The UN appeals to wealthy nations for funding all the time, he said, but the pandemic is “a one-time phenomena, a catastrophe we’re hitting”, so it’s not unreasonable to ask the wealthiest people and the wealthiest companies to give.

“I don’t mean just a few million. I’m talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, billions.”

He also urged action to address the “breakdown of supply chains globally”. Nations must ensure “that we don’t have export-import bans, restrictions at borders, shutdown of ports, shutdown of distribution points”, he said, saying that some countries had already imposed export bans that were having ripple effects on food supplies.

As an example, Beasley said if young people in urban areas in Africa lost their jobs as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, they don’t have bank accounts to fall back on. “And if they don’t have food, you’re going to have protests, riots, unrest and destabilisation. It’s going to cost the world a hundredfold more to react after the fact,” he warned.

He said if the world did not respond with sufficient funding, it would be catastrophic.

“We’re facing famine of biblical proportions,” he said. “We can avert famine if we act and we act now.”

The UN’s initial US$2b appeal has so far raised $1b. It included a lot from Europe — Germany, Britain and the European Commission — with contributions also from Japan, Persian Gulf countries, Canada and others, Lowcock said.

The updated appeal adds nine vulnerable countries — Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe — to the 54 nations covered in the initial appeal.

Lowcock said more countries were being monitored for possible addition to the list.