New Humanitarian: Are warnings of a COVID-19 famine in Africa overblown?
“Alarm bells have been ringing for months that COVID-19 could push fragile African countries ‘closer to the abyss’ of famine as jobs are lost, local markets close, and poverty deepens. … But as an increasing number of African countries ease their punishing lockdowns, ending restrictions on internal travel, relaxing curfews, and reopening schools, do these dire warnings still hold true? … [P]rojections in April that a famine of ‘biblical proportions’ is on its way thanks to COVID-19 may be overblown, according to aid workers and anecdotal evidence gathered by TNH reporting…” (Anyadike, 10/14).

Reuters: Thousands more underfed children may die due to COVID
“An extra 10,000 children per month may die this year from malnutrition due to the COVID-19 crisis, the head of the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a U.N Food and Agriculture (FAO) conference that due to the pandemic he expected a 14% rise in cases of severe child malnutrition this year — or 6.7 million more people — mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia…” (Angel, 10/14).