New York-Sana
The global health, food and agricultural organizations "FAO", International Labor and the International Fund for Agricultural Development warned today that tens of millions of people around the world are falling into extreme poverty and the number of people suffering from undernourishment will rise under weak health systems and social protection, especially for workers and farmers.
The United Nations News Center quoted the organizations of the international organization as saying in a joint statement issued today that in light of the "Corona" pandemic crisis, issues of food security, public health, employment and work are converging after the pandemic caused devastating economic and social imbalances that threaten to push tens of millions of people towards poverty at a time. In which about 690 million people are undernourished, indicating that this number may rise to 132 million by the end of this year.
According to the statement, the Corona pandemic revealed the fragility of the food system, as border closures, trade restrictions and isolation measures prevented farmers from accessing markets, disrupting local and international food supply chains and causing limited access to healthy, safe and varied food systems.
The statement also indicated that the pandemic endangered livelihoods, especially in low-income countries and among the most marginalized societies.
According to international organizations, about half of the global workforce of 3.3 billion people are at risk of losing their livelihoods, and when people lose their income, some may resort to negative coping strategies such as unfair loans or child labor.
The statement pointed out that the measures include workers in the informal economy and in low-paying jobs, not excluding the youth, the elderly and immigrants, and paying special attention to women, especially those working in low-wage and care-related jobs.
The UN organizations' statement called for providing support to vulnerable and marginalized groups, including cash assistance, financial rations for children, healthy meals in schools, relief initiatives such as shelter and food, support for job retention, recovery and financial relief for companies.
The UN organizations also called for the need to develop sustainable and long-term strategies to address the challenges facing the health and agri-food sectors, rethink the future of the environment, and address climate change and environmental degradation.
