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COVID-19 Economic and Food Security Implications in East Africa - Release 1.0, 28 March 2020

Países
Sudán del Sur
+ 8
Fuentes
WFP
Fecha de publicación

Key messages

COVID-19 can cause an increase in food insecurity and malnutrition with the likely spill over of the global economic downturn in the region, disruption of global supply chains and trade, increase in unemployment, challenging humanitarian access, and lower availability of food and medicine causing price spikes;

The spread of the virus is relatively moderate in East Africa so far, but potential massive spread is likely to have profound, devastating effect as the region is least prepared to cope with such a situation due to poor economy and health infrastructure;

This comes at a time when already more than 15 million' people are facing acute hunger (IPC Phase 3 or worse) in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya, and households have been affected by a series of multiple shocks including drought and floods, followed by locust outbreak in addition to conflicts in some areas;

The most vulnerable are those who are already facing acute hunger and malnutrition, internally displaced lipersons and refugees, low income urban households, market dependant rural households, elderly and people already suffering from medical conditions, and the children unable to access schools and school meals.