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Pandemic worsening existing food crises across the Middle East, UN agencies warn

Even before the coronavirus outbreak, nearly 110 million people across the Middle East and North Africa were undernourished.
Customers order a popular Yemeni meal known as Al-Saltah, at a restaurant in Sanaa July 3, 2013. According to the United Nations, there are approximately five million people in Yemen who are either suffering from food insecurity or are at risk of acute food insecurity caused by rising food and fuel prices and political instability. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: FOOD SOCIETY BUSINESS) - GM1E97401O501

Lockdowns and other movement restrictions are exacerbating existing food crises in the Middle East and potentially creating new ones, a group of United Nations agencies warned Wednesday. 

A joint statement from the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization and the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, detailed the negative impact the coronavirus is having on household incomes, food supply chains and school meals. 

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