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	A record 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection next year by UN News, Office for Humanitarian Affairs   Dec. 2020   A record 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection next year, a near 40 per cent increase on 2020 which is “almost entirely from COVID-19”, the UN’s emergency relief chief said on Tuesday.   In an appeal for sufficient aid funding to meet rising humanitarian needs in the next next year, Mark Lowcock said that the global health crisis had impacted dramatically people already reeling from conflict, record levels of displacement, climate change shocks. He said that “multiple” famines are looming.   The situation is “desperate” for millions and has left the UN and partners “overwhelmed”.   “The picture we are presenting is the bleakest and darkest perspective on humanitarian needs in the period ahead that we have ever set out.   That is a reflection of the fact that the COVID pandemic has wreaked carnage across the whole of the most fragile and vulnerable countries on the planet.”   "It has been clear for some time that it is not the virus itself doing most harm in vulnerable countries. It is the secondary impacts of the subsequent lockdowns and global recession – rising food prices, falling incomes, drops in remittances, interrupted vaccination programmes, school closures. They all hit the poorest people in the poorest countries hardest".    "Extreme poverty is increasing. Life expectancy will fall. The annual death toll from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria is set to double. We fear a near doubling in the number of people facing starvation. Many girls out of school will never go back".   The rise of hunger shows no signs of abating. By the end of 2020, the number of acutely food insecure people could increase to 270 million due to COVID-19, representing an 82 per cent increase compared to the number of acutely food insecure people pre-COVID-19. Urgent and sustained humanitarian action is needed to avoid further deterioration and to prevent a risk of famine in areas already on the brink of starvation.   "The pandemic has been devastating but for many of the countries whose needs we are responding to in this plan it was yet another layer of hardship on top of protracted conflicts, the effects of climate change, and the worst locust plague for a generation".   "Altogether it’s a toxic mix that has driven humanitarian need to levels unimaginable at the start of the year.  As we look ahead we face the prospect of a return to a world in which famine – something we thought we had consigned to history – is commonplace once more. Where the rights and prospects of women and girls are set back. Where parents cannot confidently expect their babies to reach their fifth birthday".   "All this can be avoided. Working together to find and fund solutions is the only way out. Wealthy nations have the means and motivation to help. Local problems become global problems if you let them. There is a strong moral and self-interest argument to act".   "We still don’t have a response that matches the scale of the crisis. We need the plans summarized in this overview to be fully funded - $35 billion is required to meet the needs of 160 million people. The faster that happens, the better. This is a crucial juncture. We won’t get a second chance to make the right choice".   "I have never been more in awe of the determination of people who live unimaginably hard lives in humanitarian tragedies, and their refusal to give up hope. Human progress is hard won and fragile. History will judge us harshly if we preside over the grand reversal".    Echoing Mr. Lowcock’s call for global solidarity, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the world to “stand with people in their darkest hour of need”, as the global pandemic continues to worsen.   Although the humanitarian system had delivered “food, medicines, shelter, education and other essentials to tens of millions of people throughout the year, “the crisis is far from over”, the UN chief said.   This year’s Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) sets out plans “to reach 160 million of the most vulnerable people in 56 countries”, Mr. Lowcock said.   He noted that while richer countries had invested some $10 trillion in staving off economic disaster from the COVID-induced slump and could now see “light at the end of the tunnel…the same is not true in the poorest countries”.   The COVID-19 crisis had plunged millions into poverty “and sent humanitarian needs skyrocketing,” Mr. Lowcock explained, adding that aid funding was needed to “stave off famine, fight poverty, and keep children vaccinated and in school”.   Money will also be used from the UN’s Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to tackle rising violence against women and girls linked to the pandemic, Mr. Lowcock said.   He also highlighted how climate change and rising global temperatures had further contributed to the bleak outlook for humanitarian needs in 2021, the impact being “most acute in the countries which have also got the biggest humanitarian problems. Indeed, eight of the 10 countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are ones where humanitarian agencies have got a huge amount of work to do already.”   Conflicts new and old had also contributed to increased needs, the UN relief chief said, pointing to “new spikes of conflict in places that were previously more peaceful. We’ve seen that obviously recently in Nagorno-Karabakh, we’ve seen it in northern Mozambique, we’ve seen it in the Western Sahara and at the moment obviously, tragically, we’re seeing in northern Ethiopia.”   Sadly, these flare-ups “haven’t replaced conflicts in other places”, said Mr. Lowcock. “In fact, things are just as bad now in the biggest humanitarian settings driven by conflict as they were a year ago.”   “We’re overwhelmed with problems, as you know, but just the scale of the need and the scale of crisis is such that these efforts to anticipate things make things a little bit better than they would otherwise have been, but they still leave us with a terrible, desperate situation.”   In addition to providing the means to help communities in crisis, Mr. Lowcock underscored the UN appeal’s focus on preventive action.   This included a cash injection for the World Health Organization (WHO) in February at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, to ensure that poorer countries received protective equipment to tackle COVID-19.   Similarly, tens of thousands of potential flood victims in Bangladesh received “support and cash” help in time so that they could protect their belongings and livelihoods.   “What we ended up with there was a much cheaper, more effective response as well as one that dramatically reduced the human suffering we would have had than if we’d done the traditional thing - waiting until floods arrive,” Mr. Lowcock highlighted.   The UN emergency relief chief underscored that the scale of the challenges facing humanitarian agencies next year are massive – and growing. “If we get through 2021 without major famines that will be a significant achievement,” he said. “The red lights are flashing, and the alarm bells are ringing.” http://gho.unocha.org/   http://www.unocha.org/media-centre http://news.un.org/en/news/topic/humanitarian-aid Visit the related web page
	Responding to the development emergency caused by COVID-19 by UNICEF, World Food Programme   Nov. 2020   280 million children in sub-Saharan Africa dealing with food insecurity. (UNICEF)   The well-being of children in sub-Saharan Africa is under siege from all directions since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The region is now suffering its first-ever economic recession, pushing about 50 million people into extreme poverty, a majority of whom are children.   This would be the largest single year change ever recorded in either absolute or percentage terms – and by a wide margin. The total number of extreme poor living in sub-Saharan Africa has now likely crossed the 500 million mark, which is approaching close to double the number in 1990 when progress against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) started to be measured.   The region was already a challenging place for many of its 550 million children, but the pandemic has intensified many of the crises they face – and created new ones. About 280 million children – or more than half of the child population – may be dealing with food insecurity. By April 2020, more than 50 million students had lost access to free daily meals, with more than 40 million of those impacted for at least six months and counting.   Moreover, school closures impacted around 250 million students in sub-Saharan Africa, adding to the 100 million out of school children before the pandemic. Learning completely stopped for most of them, which has already reduced their lifelong earning potential. Millions are unlikely to ever return to the classroom.   Other challenges include rising prices of basic goods and services, movement restrictions and disruptions to crucial social services, as well as droughts, floods, locust invasions and conflict.   “The challenges children in our region face are unprecedented and will have long-lasting harmful effect on their lives and the lives of their communities,” says Mohamed Fall, Regional Director for UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa. “Extraordinary problems require extraordinary solutions. Expanding cash transfer programmes financed in novel ways could be the solution we need. But the clock is ticking.”   Giving cash to households can mitigate and even prevent most of the current challenges facing children; it can also boost economic growth, build social protection systems and future resilience to shocks, and achieve big cost-savings over time.   For example, giving a cash equivalent to 20 per cent of the average monthly income of a country to all children under 5 for six months would cost between 1.3 per cent to 1.6 per cent of GDP. Such a programme could potentially boost per capita GDP by 2.4 per cent, on average, and help offset much of the current downturn. A full year of cash support to all young children could catapult many economies back into positive territory.   Marie-Pierre Poirier, Regional Director for UNICEF West and Central Africa, notes: “The global and regional evidence on the benefits of cash transfers for children, families and economies is simply overwhelming, especially when they are delivered through strong social protection systems. And while policymakers across sub-Saharan Africa have recognized their importance, greater external funding support is required so that cash transfers can reach their full potential and mitigate this socioeconomic crisis.”   Cash transfers have been used to respond to the current crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, however funding has been severely constrained. Governments have reallocated as much as they can to respond to the crisis, but it is not nearly enough. Even when adding total approved external assistance and announced fiscal stimulus plans, the average person in sub-Saharan Africa benefits from 2 per cent of the amount of emergency support received by citizens of the G20 countries ($38 versus $1,652).   However, a scale up of cash transfers can be realized by combining domestic and external resources. It could take the form of a global funding facility, which could be resourced by debt relief savings, global emergency funds from the international financial institutions and the fulfillment of official development assistance commitments by donor governments. Out-of-box financing approaches could also help, like selling IMF gold reserves, issuing long-term bonds, and introducing one or more cross-border fractional taxes.   This could support the safe reopening of schools and economies as well as the scaling up of national cash transfer programmes and strengthening of social protection systems. And in doing so, it could offer hope for children, economies and the continent as they contend with the impacts of COVID-19, climate, conflict and other shocks.   http://reliefweb.int/report/world/covid-19-catastrophe-children-sub-saharan-africa http://www.unicef.org/social-policy/child-poverty/covid-19-socioeconomic-impacts http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-calls-averting-lost-generation-covid-19-threatens-cause-irreversible-harm http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-issues-record-us64-billion-emergency-funding-appeal-reach-more-190-million http://www.unicef.org/appeals   June 2020   Responding to the development emergency caused by COVID-19. (World Food Programme)   Addressing the “development emergency” low and middle-income countries are facing due to the scale and scope of the global COVID-19 pandemic requires a comprehensive and integrated response which upholds humanitarian and human rights standards.   The impact of COVID-19 will disproportionately affect low and middle-income countries and could lead to a food security and nutrition crisis of historic proportions.   More than 800 million people around the world were food insecure before this crisis. An additional 200 million are expected to lose access to basic food and nutrition in the months ahead.   Health care systems in these countries are likely to be overwhelmed, while the combination of a sharp global recession and dependence on volatile import, export and credit markets threatens trade, generates unemployment and loss of income, and constrains the ability of countries to respond to rapidly increasing needs.   Food insecurity and malnutrition are projected to deepen among poor and marginalized populations – with estimates indicating the number of people suffering from acute hunger could double – and expand among groups that were previously able to meet their own needs.   People at particular risk include those living in densely populated urban areas and camps, those who rely on markets for access to food, people employed in the informal sector, and school-aged children and their families. Structural and socio-economic inequalities based on gender, age, disability, income and other factors will be exacerbated, and compound the risk of hunger.   Due to COVID-related school closures, 370 million school children are currently missing out on school meals. In countries across the globe, school feeding programmes provide a crucial and widespread safety net that supports children and their families.   As some countries will soon turn their attention towards school reopening, meals and health programmes can provide incentives for families to send their children back to school. Without them, many – especially girls – won’t resume their education, resulting in a lost generation that will never recover from this crisis.   It is essential that nutritionally vulnerable populations do not get left behind or deprioritized duringthe COVID-19 response. Many countries will have to dramatically shift the way at-risk groups, especially women, infants and young children, receive preventive and life-saving support as movement restrictions and service prioritization affect access to clinics and nutrition services.   The COVID-19 pandemic is placing significant stress on all components of food systems (production, trade and distribution, and consumption), threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions of vulnerable people.   Sustaining, protecting and improving food systems during the crisis is vital to reduce economic and food insecurity risks to communities, especially the most vulnerable, and enable a quicker and more inclusive recovery.   Countries across the globe are facing a “development emergency.” There is urgent need to support their responses to the immediate and longer-term impact of COVID-19. To do this, emergency, development and prevention programming must be integrated to deliver joint outcomes.   This includes sustaining and scaling up food and nutrition assistance components for critical lifesaving and livelihood protection activities.   The socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic require a comprehensive, coherent and collaborative response – delivered quickly and at scale. Governments are primarily responsible for protecting populations and ensuring the essential needs of all persons are equitably met.   In defining the programmatic framework to address the medium-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, WFP has identified three pillars of intervention that are central to effective, efficient and equitable responses.   These are: support for national social protection systems; basic service delivery – in particular school-based programmes and nutrition; and food systems.   While the impacts of the socio-economic crisis generated by COVID-19 are being felt globally, low- and middle-income countries will be disproportionately affected. Under-developed and under-resourced systems are less able to contain and treat the immediate health effects of the pandemic, as well as the longer-term socio-economic ones.   The projected global economic contraction, integrated nature of economic activity and dependence on volatile global import, export and credit markets signal negative consequences for trade and employment.   Limited fiscal space and high debt will restrict many countries’ ability to respond to increasing needs.   The large-scale economic disruption caused by the pandemic is reducing household income significantly, limiting the ability to meet essential needs and weakening both households’ and countries’ potential to recover post-crisis.   Many families are likely to experience food price spikes and volatile or reduced food availability or accessibility. Food price spikes can be devastating for low-income households, especially those that depend on markets for basic access to food.   As the percentage of household income spent on food increases, diets become less nutritious and less money is spent on key basic services such as health and education.   Pre-existing inequalities, including those pertaining to gender, disability, health, civil status and income will be exacerbated.   Poverty and vulnerability to food insecurity and malnutrition are likely to both deepen among already poor and marginalized populations and expand among groups previously able to meet their food and nutrition needs.   The effects of the pandemic are projected to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, with the number of people suffering acute food insecurity likely to almost double from 135 million to 270 million.   While anyone can contract COVID-19, personal, situational, socio-cultural and structural factors create different levels and types of risk.   The risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic include: risk of infection; risk of severe complication; and risk of socio-economic and other indirect impacts, such as gender-based violence.   Individuals may fall into one or more of these categories, which interact with pre-existing risk factors including gender, age, disability and poverty.   Groups at higher risk of infection include health system workers and home caregivers, workers in essential, daily-wage and informal/irregular sectors unable to self-isolate, and people living in densely-populated environments.   Once infected, older people and those with underlying medical conditions – including malnutrition and pre-existing disease – are at higher risk of developing severe illness or complications.   Based on the combination of these factors, it is possible to identify groups that are particularly at risk of not being able to meet their essential needs, including food and nutrition, and whose circumstances and needs should be prioritized and supported in national responses to the COVID-19 crisis.   Urban populations and those living in densely populated environments, including camps hosting internally displaced people and refugees.   Individuals and households living below or close to the poverty line, who depend on wage labour, micro-enterprise or engagement with the informal economy for access to food, the majority of whom are women.   Irregular migrants and marginalized groups with limited access to social services, such as ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.   People with underlying medical conditions and poor nutritional status, including acute malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis and respiratory illnesses.   Girls and women; school-aged children currently not in school or at risk of drop-out; single-parent and female-headed households; older persons; unpaid caregivers, who are disproportionately women and girls.   Basic social services are the building blocks for societal function and human development. At times of crisis, their provision is foundational to preserve life and livelihoods, and enable recovery.   School closures and population movement restrictions are making it harder for those in the most vulnerable situations to access the services they require.   It is essential that nutritionally vulnerable populations do not get left behind or deprioritized for health services support during the COVID-19 response, especially in contexts where access to services is inequitable.   It is anticipated that many countries will have to dramatically shift the way at-risk groups – especially pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls, infants, young children and adolescents – receive preventive and life-saving support as movement restrictions and service prioritization affect access to clinics and nutrition services.   Health facilities will have to adapt safely, and systematically provide preventative services and support the treatment of malnourished women and children with a flexible approach that allows for more service delivery in the community, including the provision of nutrition services through outposts, mobile clinics and community-run programmes.   Scale-up of nutrition interventions   Expanding existing nutrition programmes would ensure that individuals whose nutritional status has been affected by the pandemic are supported with prevention and treatment services through health, community and government platforms.   Interventions should treat and prevent all forms of malnutrition – including wasting, stunting, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity – developed as a result of a prolonged economic and food security crisis.   A well-coordinated multisectoral approach will help to mitigate the likely multiple effects of COVID19 on nutrition.   The significant stress the COVID-19 pandemic is placing on food systems, especially in lower-middle income countries and fragile states where these are already flawed or disrupted, is threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions of vulnerable people.   The crisis is impacting all components of food systems: production, trade and distribution, and consumption. This is affecting actors and livelihoods along the food value chain: farmers, traders, processors, distributors, retailers, as well as the millions of consumers that rely on their efforts to meet their basic food and nutrition needs.   Production is likely to be affected from disrupted access to inputs, labour, services and markets. Volatile global commodity markets, trade and border policies, movement restrictions and market closures threaten food trade and distribution networks.   Household food security is at increased risk from income loss, price spikes and volatile or reduced access to adequate and nutritious food.Sustaining, protecting and improving food systems during the crisis is vital to reduce economic and food insecurity risks to communities, especially the most vulnerable, and enable a quicker and more inclusive and sustainable recovery.   As a result, effective and coherent action is required across national food systems in synergy with social assistance interventions.   * Extract: 'Responding to the development emergency caused by COVID-19: http://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000117124/download/ http://www.wfp.org/emergencies/covid-19-pandemic http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-says-41-million-people-now-imminent-risk-famine-without-urgent-funding-and-immediate http://bit.ly/3wJFXKz http://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-global-operational-response-plan-update-2-june-2021 Visit the related web page
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