World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley has warned of a second catastrophe as the world continues its fight against COVID-19.

Speaking in an online broadcast, Beasley said the world faces "multiple famines of biblical proportions" that could result in 300,000 deaths per day — a "hunger pandemic."

While citing research from the WFP, Beasley said that as the virus spreads, "an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020."

This could bring the global starvation number to 265 million people.

Beasley's remarks coincided with the release of the Global Report on Food Crises 2020, which highlights 55 countries where 135 million people face crisis-level malnutrition, without taking into account those affected by COVID-19.

The report fronts worrying trends in countries across Africa and the Middle East — where shutdowns have exacerbated poverty and more people are expected to die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself.

It notes that in countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Zimbabwe, "national health systems are already overstretched, with an alarming dearth of equipment, medicines and trained staff."

Most of these country's are reeling from devastating effects of war and violence, which has rendered food production almost impossible.

Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan are the world's biggest crises, having endured years of conflict.

Beasley implored "all parties involved in conflicts to give us swift and unimpeded humanitarian access to all vulnerable communities, so they can get the assistance to them that they need, regardless of who they are or where they are."

Source(s): World Food Programme