Aid Groups Call for Worldwide COVID-19 Bailout Amid Fears of Mass Hunger

“As many as 12,000 people could die every day from COVID-linked hunger, which is more than those dying daily from the virus itself,” warns Oxfam America President Abby Maxman.

MPN– The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have already devastated the world. Over 14 million people have tested positive for the virus, and nearly 600,000 have died since it was first identified in December. And cases continue to rise: yesterday saw 248,998 people test positive – an all-time high. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the crisis is “not even close” to being resolved.

he consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have already devastated the world. Over 14 million people have tested positive for the virus, and nearly 600,000 have died since it was first identified in December. And cases continue to rise: yesterday saw 248,998 people test positive – an all-time high. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the crisis is “not even close” to being resolved.

UN Warns COVID-19 Fears Leading to “Alarming” Decline in Immunizations and Hospital Visits

Many see the disruption caused by the pandemic as an opportunity to redesign society for the better, implementing more sustainable forms of food production and mass transit. Oxfam describes the moment as a “once in a generation chance to build a fairer world.” However, it appears that currently, the pandemic is being used by those in power to further their own agendas. 82 percent of the benefits of Trump’s CARES Act, for example, went to those already earning at least $1 million per year, with less than three percent going to the great majority earning under $100,000 annually. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, total billionaire wealth has increased by $584 billion since the lockdown in mid-March. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is also taking the opportunity to force through “revolutionary” change in the state’s public schools, his plan sounding very much like a privatization drive. Which direction the world will ultimately take remains to be seen.

Aid Groups Call for Worldwide COVID-19 Bailout Amid Fears of Mass Hunger

Feature photo | A homeless man in India eats discarded eggs from a garbage bin during lockdown on the outskirts of Jammu, India, May 10, 2020. Channi Anand | AP