Zurich, Dec 10 (FN Representative) The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the global economy, with poor populations bearing the brunt of the crisis with estimated income losses of $3.7 trillion, David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), said on Friday. During his speech at the Nobel Prize award ceremony is Oslo, the WFP head called the divide between the rich and poor one of the biggest problems of the modern times, exacerbated by the pandemic.
“The ripple effect of Covid has been devastating on the global economy. During the pandemic, $3.7 trillion of lost income, mostly among the poor, had been wiped out, while food prices, at the same time, are rising,” Beasley said. He noted that while those already living in poverty and struggling with access to basic necessities, including food, lost most of their income, the world’s billionaires earned an additional $1.8 trillions over the course of the pandemic. The critical food situation arose in conflict areas and in low-income countries mostly as a result of skyrocketing transportation prices, which in some instances shot up 400%, Beasley said. For example, in war-torn Aleppo, food is now seven times more expensive than it was two years ago, according to the WFP chief. Among other factors contributing to the spread of famine Beasley also named civil wars, man-made regional conflicts, and climate change. Currently, over 800,000 million people globally experience malnutrition, while 45 million people are facing starvation, the WFP said.