Hi John, Did you know that hunger was already at a record high across the world before the COVID-19 pandemic hit? For the last 20 years, the world had been making progress, lowering the number of children who were going hungry. But in the last two years, that trend has started to change.In 2019 and 2020, climate change was already forcing farmers off their land in areas like Somalia, and conflict kept children trapped in unstable situations in places like Yemen. And then COVID came along. Not only did the pandemic make it harder for families that were already struggling to put food on the table, it knocked millions who were on the edge into hunger. For the first time in decades, hunger is on the rise in children globally. 1. COVID-19 disrupted food supply lines. As the world closed down to protect people from the virus, millions of the world's most vulnerable were forced out of work. Farmers couldn't sell their crops to buy the things they needed, and people further down the supply line couldn't access much needed nutrition. Even worse, future crops have been delayed by the disrupted supply lines, meaning the farmers and those who depend on them won't be able to rely on next year's crops. An unstable supply line also affects those of us who are trying to get food to those who need it most. Nutritious meals are more difficult for everyone to find, especially when you need to find them in quantities large enough to reach millions. 2. Unemployment makes food security more difficult Income losses in poorer countries are expected to reach $220 billion because of COVID. That simple statistic represents thousands of parents who won't be able to feed their children due to the economic disruption of COVID. Millions of people relied on tourism or retail work that can't be done remotely, and an estimated 55% of the world has no access to social services like unemployment support. Their income dropped or went away entirely as food prices rose, and no one can confidently say when they'll be able to work again. 3. Schools can't step in. I'm working on another email about schools right now, so I won't dig into this one too deeply, but hundreds of millions of children around the world have relied on the school system to make sure they have at least one meal per day. When schools shut down, that one sure meal disappeared from any of them. I know these numbers might leave you feeling a little bleak. It's hard not to get discouraged by the enormity of the problem, but I urge you not to give up hope. My colleagues and I are confident that we can end world hunger. There is enough food to go around. We just need your help to get it into the hands of the people who need it the most. Thank you for standing with us. Cassidy Knize Digital Manager Save the Children US |
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