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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the world's economy, triggering a recession that has severely affected food security and nutrition for millions of people.
The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that between 720 million and 811 million people faced hunger in 2020, as many as 161 million more than in 2019.
The Asia and Pacific region has been particularly badly hit.
Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, food prices have risen consistently in the region.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), unlike the 2008 food crisis, which was driven by disruption in global markets, the COVID-19 food crisis was caused by soaring unemployment and reduced product markets. Severe income and remittance losses reduced the ability of both urban and rural households to buy food.
In addition, supply disruptions to local markets reduced food availability and increased local food prices. Import-dependent economies faced additional difficulties as currency depreciations and supply chain disruptions increased the cost of food. - blog.adb.org/blogs
A version of this article appears in the print on July 1, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.