China News Service, Beijing, February 2 (Liu Liang) According to a report released by the World Bank on the 2nd, last year, the new crown pneumonia epidemic damaged the economy, health and food security of hundreds of millions of people and plunged as many as 150 million people into extreme poverty.

The epidemic has a serious impact on health and the economy, and increased hunger is one of the most obvious symptoms.

  The World Bank pointed out that loss of income has reduced people’s money to buy food in their pockets, while market and supply disruptions caused by movement restrictions have caused local food shortages and price increases.

The reduction of nutritious food will have a negative impact on the health and cognitive development of children in the era of the new crown epidemic in the next few years.

  According to the World Bank Food Price Index, global food prices rose by 14% last year.

The World Bank’s regular telephone surveys of 45 countries and regions show that a large proportion of people have run out of food or consume less.

In view of the increasingly serious situation, the World Bank believes that the international community can take three key actions in 2021 to improve food security and help prevent greater losses of human capital.

  The first is to ensure the free circulation of food to avoid artificial shortages and price increases.

The second is to strengthen the social safety net. Short-term social security measures have played an important role in buffering families affected by health and economic crises.

The third is to strengthen prevention and preparation.

The world food system has suffered multiple shocks in 2020. From the economic impact on producers and consumers, to the desert locust plague and changing weather, all indicators indicate that this may have become the new normal.

  According to the World Bank, continuous capital investment is needed to reduce food loss and waste, strengthen the agricultural value chain to create jobs and make up for lost income, and deploy effective climate-smart agricultural technologies on a large scale.

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