The United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley called out the world’s billionaire on Thursday to make a move and save 30 million people on the verge of starvation due to a deadly combination of conflict: climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UN’s top food official urged donors, billionaires, and businesses worldwide to help with its need, amounting to $4.9 billion. Beasley also gave an early warning to the UN Security Control five months ago of a “hunger pandemic” possibility, averting famine and keeping people alive. However, he also told the council that the “governments are strapped” and resorting to the issuance of a plea for the private sectors to aid them.
Beasley also noted that there are some 2,000 billionaires with a net worth of $8 trillion, where there are 12 individuals alone in the US with assets worth $1 trillion during the pandemic. He also emphasized the need for balanced measures to suppress the coronavirus by keeping the global movement of supply chains and trades across borders.
According to a published report by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), US billionaires’ combined wealth spiked over 19%, reaching half a trillion as of June since its coronavirus outbreak. During the instigation of lockdowns 11 weeks from March 18, the wealth of Amazon.com Inc.’s founder Jeff Bezos soar by about $36.2 billion, while Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s assets surged by about $30.1 billion.
“I am not opposed to people making money, but humanity is facing the greatest crisis any of us have seen in our lifetimes. It’s time for those who have the most to help those who have the least in this extraordinary time in world history. To show you truly love your neighbor. The world needs you right now, and it’s time to do the right thing.”
UN WFP Executive Director David Beasley
Meanwhile, world leaders have devoted to ending global hunger and malnutrition by 2030, implied in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN food chief commended the international communities’ collaborative efforts to support their citizens amidst the pandemic, G-20 advanced economies, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in suspending debt repayments for poorer countries.
“There is a grave danger that many more people will die from the broader economic and social consequences of COVID-19 that from the virus itself, especially in Africa, and the last thing we need is to have the cure be worse than the disease itself.”
David Beasley