Pre-cum-Mains GS Foundation Program for UPSC 2026 | Starting from 14th Nov. 2024 Click Here for more information
Source: The Hindu
What is the news?
Findings of the Oxfam report: The Hunger Virus Multiplies
Key findings
- Hunger is a greater threat: Death toll from famine outpaces that of COVID-19, which kills around seven people per minute. 11 people die of hunger each minute and that the number facing famine-like conditions around the globe has increased six times over the last year.
- Food insecurity has increased: 155 million people around the world now live at crisis levels of food insecurity or worse (some 20 million more than last year).
- Around two-thirds of them face hunger because their country is in military conflict.
- Today, the never-ending conflict and the economic impact of COVID-19, and a worsening climate crisis, has pushed more than 520,000 people to the brink of starvation.
- Many countries mired in conflict have been included as the worst hunger hot spots” including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
- Military spending has increased: Despite the pandemic, global military spending increased by $51 billion during the pandemic — an amount that exceeds by at least six times what the U.N. needs to stop hunger.
- Global warming and the economic impact of the pandemic have caused a 40% increase in global food prices, the highest in over a decade. This surge has contributed significantly to pushing tens of millions more people into hunger.
Note: As an aspiring administrator, your views about any topic should always be backed by evidence i.e. data. Hence, you can use these points in your GS and Essay papers. Even at the interview stage, such data-backed responses will fetch you more marks.