Food Coalition Launched by United Nations – To Prevent COVID-19 Food Crisis
The United Nations has created and launched a new Food Coalition in order to prevent COVID-19 food crisis. The formation of coalition was proposed by Italy. It was then led by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
What was the need?
Recently, a State of Food Security and Nutrition Report, 2020 was published. The report highlighted that more than 690 million people went hungry in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has further added 130 million more people into chronic hunger by the end of 2020. So, in order to reduce the catastrophe, the Food and Agriculture Organization has launched the Food Coalition.
Who will finance the coalition?
The Food coalition was inaugurated by the Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte and the Netherlands’s Deputy Prime Minister. In the line, both the countries, Italy and Netherlands have agreed to deliver the financial resources and technical support to the coalition. Initially, Italy has contributed 1.2 million USD to it.
Food Coalition
The new food coalition of the United Nations will work as a network to support measures in order to increase resilience of agricultural food system. It will also ensure food access. As per the FAO Food Price Index, the food prices has been rising for the fifth successive month. Thus, it is essential to address the global hunger issues. A report by FAO highlights that, around 132 million people will become undernourished in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic.
Features of the Food Coalition
The key features of the food coalition are as follows:
- This will mobilise the resources, innovation and expertise.
- It will also work to frame solution-oriented plans and programmes.
- The coalition will also advocate for coordinated COVID-19 response.
- It seeks to promote and exchange knowledge and expertise among countries.
- The coalition will further expand the international partnership and cooperation for a longer term impact.