Stable food supply in Near East and North Africa despite COVID-19, worry remains for conflict and unstable countries

18 May 2020, Cairo – The situation of food availability in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is generally at a satisfactory level in most countries, but some remain vulnerable to the multiple risks triggered by COVID-19, states FAO's newly released report "COVID-19 and its impact on food security in the Near East and North Africa: How to respond?".

"Countries across the region must not panic or fear a food crisis. The region has enough food reserve and crop production to serve populations. However, we must take our precautions for future risks caused by COVID-19, especially in the most vulnerable countries affected by conflict or instability," said Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the NENA region.

Arab states are already host to 55 million hungry people, and conflict remains to be the main driver of hunger across the region. More than 40 million of those hungry are in conflict countries, compared to almost 14 million people in non-conflict countries. There are fears that the COVID-19 pandemic will worsen the situation for the region, with declining economies, job losses and disruption in the markets.

Although the current situation is stable, the global pandemic could still affect some NENA countries negatively in the future. Countries may withstand the initial supply- and demand-side shocks associated with COVID-19, however, a deepening of the global economic recession and a prolonged period of disruption in the global and local supply chains may have considerable impacts on production, availability and access to food.

"Countries affected by conflict and instability in the region are already host to 30.8 million people in situations of food crisis, and those are the most at risk to suffer from the disruptions caused by the current global situation," added Ould Ahmed.
These countries may descend further into food insecurity especially if the lifeline of food assistance is cut or disrupted.

The newly launched report highlights steps taken by countries in the region to mitigate the economic impact of the crisis, but questions whether they will have the capacity to sustain these measures over a longer period. Economic stimulus packages, emergency funds, and boosting social protection programs have rolled out in most countries. Special attention has also been given to the agriculture sector by, for example, delaying taxes and providing new credit facilities for farmers.

However, it remains questionable whether countries will be able to continue these measures or if they will face a difficult trade-off between maintaining strict sanitary and health procedures to contain the spread of the virus and keeping the economy moving.

"After assessing the pandemic's impact on food security in the region, we recommend that countries implement strategic COVID-19 food security action plans to ensure that all of their populations have access to adequate food and that all the necessary measures are taken to keep food systems working safely and efficiently," stated Ould Ahmed.

The report lists six action areas governments need to focus on to create and implement food security action plans in these difficult times:

• Ensure that the global food supply chain is kept alive
• Ensure institutional coordination and consultation with all the food value chain actors while implementing health measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
• Protect those who have lost their jobs and vulnerable groups including farmers.
• Support smallholder producers and rural youth and promote innovation.
• Promote healthy diets during and after the pandemic.
• Support regional collective action to protect people affected by crises in the region.

The report states that COVID-19 has revealed the fragility of the health and food systems in the region. This crisis has shown how interconnected development objectives are, and is providing a strong rationale for transforming our health and food systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Decade for Action offers the framework needed to achieve such transformation.