A leading global health expert has warned that the increasing food shortage may pose the same health threat to the world as the COVID-19 pandemic. Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, stated on Tuesday that rising food and energy prices, driven by factors including the war in Ukraine, could lead to the direct and indirect deaths of millions.
He added, "Food shortages result in two things. Firstly, you face the tragedy of people dying from hunger. Secondly, there is the reality that many more people often suffer from severe malnutrition, making them more susceptible to existing diseases." Sands emphasized that efforts to improve pandemic preparedness should not fall into the same "classic" mistake of focusing only on crises that resemble the last threat faced by the world.
The World Health Organization estimates that 15 million people have died as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Sands noted the need for investment to strengthen health systems to help prepare for the repercussions of food shortages, which is part of the Global Fund’s mandate. The fund, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is seeking to raise $18 billion to enhance health systems, combat AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as address the fallout from the pandemic.
