Hunger, a hidden enemy

In recent months we’ve seen many of the world’s countries join the fight against a pandemic that has shaken their healthcare systems. The aim was to halt the spread of the virus as soon as possible and reduce the death rate from Covid-19, which currently surpasses 450,000 victims all over the world. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of everyone –of course including the tireless work of front-line healthcare professionals and basic service providers– it looks like little by little the number of infections is going down in Spain, the curve is flattening, the virus seems to be under control and we’re gradually getting back some of the normal activities we’ve longed for so much. Nevertheless, this is also the time to reflect on the long and short-term consequences of this pandemic.

Last June 9, the United Nations published an alert about an imminent food emergency that will hit hard on a global scale. Concretely, this means that millions of people won’t be able to satisfy their most basic needs of survival, and will see their lives seriously threatened. And it’s not a far-off threat: it’s estimated that 270 million people could end this year suffering from hunger; in other words, without the possibility of satisfying a vital need, a human right, like food. This figure represents double the number of people who had that problem before the pandemic. It’s really terrifying.

But what caused this situation? Measures by the different countries to mitigate the virus, along with a steep world economic decline, are a threat to the functioning of the food system. Logically, this will affect the most vulnerable regions and groups, but it can also be a risk for other areas where the food supply is not a problem. According to UN estimates, world economic production is going to drop by 8.5 trillion dollars over the next two years, and 49 million people will fall to a level of extreme poverty. Half of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

A threat to infancy

We’ve often heard that the coronavirus makes all of us equal because it doesn’t distinguish by territory or earning power. But the reality is very different, and one only has to observe the consequences the virus is having among the most vulnerable population and in the poorest countries. Confinement has left many families without work and thus the income necessary to cover their most basic necessities. Access to food becomes a real problem and many people have had to make use of social services. With regard to developing countries, things are even worse.

In this sense, there is extreme concern about the impact of the pandemic on the nutrition of children. The effect could be devastating, because their food options are more and more limited and the quality of their diet continues to deteriorate. More than half of the children who suffer from malnutrition live in countries affected by food crises. In addition, there is expected to be an increase in malnutrition as confinement measures against the virus interrupt normal food chain supplies and local markets.

In countries with medium and low incomes, two of every three children do not receive the minimum varied diet they need to survive, grow, learn and develop their maximum potential. Almost 370 million children in 143 countries who normally depend on school meals for adequate nutrition must now seek other sources. We should consider the fact that for may kids, the meal they get at school is the only one in the whole day. Without it, they go hungry and run the risk of falling ill and having to leave school, thus losing their best option for escaping poverty, from the lack of both education and food.

This situation contrasts starkly with the increase in overweight and obesity in almost every country in the world, and which may have been aggravated by the lockdown and a lack of resources. At present, 40 million children under that age of 5 are overweight, and the proportion of kids between 5 and 19 who are overweight has almost doubled in the past 15 years. Excess weight is an important barrier for children when it comes to fully developing and to achieving their maximum potential. It is also risky for their general state of health, their social relations and their emotional wellbeing.

Acting now

As the Covid-19 epidemic spreads and its socioeconomic impact threatens to bring greater malnutrition on a world level, we can see the need to turn the situation around and assure the future of millions of children in the world. As UNICEF Global Champion for Nutrition and Zero Childhood Obesity, I want to take this opportunity to stress the importance of establishing a worldwide strategy to fight the inequalities in food and health systems, so as to assure that the most vulnerable children have access to safe diets and essential nutrition.

We need to articulate a global response to the Covid-19 pandemic and fight together against this hidden enemy. Adequate nutrition is an essential strategy for protecting kids and fighting the direct and collateral impact of epidemics, so as to save lives, guarantee healthy growth and create a sustainable future.

To avoid an even more important nutritional crisis, and to protect children from the worst impact of the pandemic, we have to act now, assuring that they have access to healthy food, protecting essential nutritional services, and guaranteeing the detection and early treatment of severe malnutrition in children. Protecting kids from the consequences of this pandemic must become an essential point on the world’s agenda.

UNICEF continues to lead initiatives to protect children in more than 190 countries and territories. Its role in meeting this crisis is vital. Along with the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) and regional governments, it is already in 68 countries giving children food rations, coupons or cash transferrals as an alternative to the meals they were receiving at school. I encourage you to support this cause, which is the responsibility of everyone, though the webpage unicef.es/hazte-socio-hambruna. Because working together we can defeat this hidden enemy: hunger.

This article was published in Spanish in Expansión.