A prominent global health expert has warned of a future global health crisis, represented by the increasing food shortage, considering that this matter may represent the same health threat to the world as the Corona pandemic.
The Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Peter Sands, said in an interview with Archyde.com that the rise in food and energy prices, which was caused by reasons including the war in Ukraine, may lead to the death of millions directly and indirectly.
“The lack of food does two things. First, you face the tragedy of people already dying of starvation. And secondly, there is the fact that many more people are often severely malnourished, which makes them more vulnerable to common diseases,” he added.
He said efforts to improve pandemic preparedness should not fall into the same “classic” mistake of being concerned only with crises that resemble the latest threat the world faced.
Sands said investment is needed to strengthen health systems to help prepare for the fallout from food shortages, which is part of the Global Fund’s mandate.
Russia and Ukraine contribute regarding a third of the global wheat supply, while Russia is also a major global exporter of fertilizers and Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday that global food prices fell in May for the second month in a row following hitting a record high in March, but the cost of grain and meat rose.
The FAO said that wheat prices increased due to India’s announcement of an export ban, in addition to the decline in production expectations from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
