Unicef - Food crisis likely to worsen in the Middle East and North Africa as Coronavirus continues

27 May 2020 03:43 PM

Governments and partners across the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) are working around the clock to protect communities from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

While these efforts are saving many lives, they are having a critical impact on food supply chains and the availability, access and affordability of better varieties of safe and nutritious foods. Vulnerable families are struggling to secure household income and bringing food to their table.

“Countries in the region already facing food crisis are hit hardest by the pandemic.  The pandemic has further exacerbated challenges in Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen [2] in the quantity, frequency and diversity of the food children and families consume. These are among the top 10 countries in the world with the worst food crises in 2019 by number of people in Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) with nearly 40 million people affected [3].  This is likely to create a new type of food crisis, or in most cases to worsen existing ones.

“Our organisations are closely following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nutrition of those most affected, particularly the poor and most vulnerable communities in the region[4].  Last year, one in five people were undernourished [5] in the region.

“We call on governments, international development partners, donors and the private sector to address the availability, access and affordability of safe and nutritious foods and to protect the nutrition of the most vulnerable families, children, pregnant and lactating women across the region, while implementing the necessary health, prevention and control measures. This can be done through the following actions:

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Notes to Editors

[1] Ted Chaiban Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, UNICEF, Abdessalam Ould Ahmed Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, FAO, Muhannad Hadi, Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, WFP and  Ahmed Al-Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, WHO

[2] Global Network Against Food Crises, Food Security Information Network, Global Report on Food Crises, 2020

[3] Ibid.

[4] Covering the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, State of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

[5] Undernourished: There are 4 broad sub-forms of undernutrition: wasting, stunting, underweight, and deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Undernutrition makes children, in particular much more vulnerable to disease and death.

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