The head of the World Food Program of the United Nations, David Beasley, fears the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War in view of the economic upheavals in the corona pandemic.
When he took office in April 2017, 80 million people were already "walking toward starvation," he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Berlin.
Two years ago, just before the outbreak of the pandemic, the number had already risen to 135 million - with the most important drivers being conflicts and climate change.
In the meantime, however, the number has more than doubled again: to more than 285 million.
The causes are ongoing economic problems and the interruption of supply chains due to the pandemic.
Under the numbers he mentioned, Beasley includes all people who fall into levels three to five according to the worldwide uniform classification on the international five-stage crisis scale IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification).
They are those suffering from severe acute malnutrition (Stage 3), facing a serious emergency situation in which they often do not know where their next meal will come from (Stage 4), or experiencing acute famine affecting at least 30 people percent of the population are acutely malnourished despite humanitarian aid (level 5).
Of particular concern, according to the WFP Director, is that 45 million people in more than 40 countries are currently at risk of acute starvation;
on the IPC scale, this corresponds to level four out of five.
Beasley said his organization would need $6 billion this year just to save those 45 million from starvation.