Alarm bells have been ringing for months that COVID-19 could push fragile African countries “closer to the abyss” of famine as jobs are lost, local markets close, and poverty deepens.
Aid agencies routinely list the coronavirus as a major factor in driving humanitarian needs, from the Sahel to Somalia, and don’t shy away from describing its impact as the “perfect storm”.
A joint report in July by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calculated that COVID-19 could create an additional 121 million hungry people globally by the end of the year – mostly in 15 already crisis-affected African countries.
But as an increasing number of African countries ease their punishing lockdowns, ending restrictions on internal travel, relaxing curfews, and reopening schools, do these dire warnings still hold true?