The Covid-19 impact on economies and food systems will significantly drive up the numbers of hungry food-insecure people in East Africa. Workneh Gebeyehu, IGAD executive secretary, also said the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic could increase conflicts over resources in the region already prone to conflict. The analysis further says most food-insecure people are expected to remain in rural areas, though the pandemic will likely hit poor urban households hardest. They have very limited opportunities to cover minimum food requirements of all household members," the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) April report reads. This is because the region is highly dependent on remittances bur foreign remittances have slowed due to the pandemic.

Source: The Star June 06, 2020 12:56 UTC