<p style="font-weight: 400;">The United Nations released $100 million of emergency funding to stave off the risk of famine in seven countries which are most at risk due to conflict, economic decline, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock has allocated $100 million to help people feed themselves. The funding has been released alongside a warning that without immediate action, famine could be a reality in the coming months in parts of Burkina Faso, north-east Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen. This would be the first time famine has been declared since 2017 in parts of South Sudan.</p>
"The prospect of a return to a world in which famines are commonplace would be heart wrenching and obscene in a world where there is more than enough food for everyone," said Lowcock.

"No one should view a slide into famine as an inevitable side effect of this pandemic. If it happens it is because the world has allowed it to happen. Famine can be prevented. But we have to act in time to make a difference. Right now, more money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine-prevention efforts," Lowcock said..