Even before COVID-19 reduced incomes and disrupted supply chains, chronic and acute hunger were on the rise due to various factors including conflict, socio-economic conditions, natural hazards, climate change and pests. But 2020 marks the most severe increase in global food insecurity, impacting vulnerable households in almost every country. This brief looks at rising food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic and World Bank responses to date.
Global grain markets remain well supplied and prices are stable as of the beginning of December, about 10 percent higher than their January 2020 levels. Given the status of global food supplies, export restrictions are unwarranted and could hurt food security in importing countries. The
World Bank has joined other organizations in calling for collective action to keep food trade flowing
between countries.
The primary risks to food security are at the country level: as the coronavirus crisis unfolds, disruptions in domestic food supply chains, other shocks affecting food production, and loss of incomes and remittances are creating strong tensions and food security risks in many countries.
Despite stable global food prices, numerous countries are experiencing high food price inflation at the retail level, reflecting supply disruptions due to COVID-19, currency devaluations and other factors. Rising food prices have a greater impact in low- and middle-income countries since a larger share of income is spent on food in these countries than in high-income countries.
Higher retail prices, combined with reduced incomes, mean more and more households are having to cut down on the quantity and quality of their food consumption. In November 2020, the U.N. World Food Programme confirmed earlier predictions and estimated that an additional
137 million people could face acute food insecurity by the end of 2020, an 82 percent increase
compared to the pre-COVID estimate of acutely food insecure people in the world. In particular, acute hunger has quadrupled in Latin America and the Caribbean countries where WFP operates.
Rapid phone surveys done by the World Bank
in a number of countries confirm the widespread impact of COVID-19 on household incomes and food and nutrition security. Reduced calorie intake and compromised nutrition threaten gains in poverty reduction and health and could have lasting impacts on the cognitive development of young children.