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IFPRI is curating a special series of blog posts analyzing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on national and global food and nutrition security, poverty, and development. The series is edited by IFPRI director general Johan Swinnen and A4NH director John McDermott. 1. How India’s food-based safety net is responding to the COVID-19 lockdown 2. Fiscal and monetary responses to the…

The sight of supermarket shelves temporarily out of staple products is always unsettling. Combined with sweeping travel bans affecting many countries grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be tempting to think that shortages are linked to low global food supplies. But that’s simply not the case. Production levels and global stocks for staple foods are at an all-time high and…

Pour certains environnementalistes et experts, le nouveau coronavirus est l'une des conséquences de la destruction de l’environnement. Dans ce magazine, Ibrahim Thiaw, le secrétaire exécutif de la Convention de l'ONU sur la lutte contre la désertification, explique que la majorité des nouvelles maladies infectieuses humaines sont transmises par des animaux dont nous détruisons l’environnement. …

The outbreak of COVID-19 is a rude awakening to many who believed the era of infectious disease was over. In this post, Bernard Bett, Delia Randolph and John McDermott argue that not only are pandemics not over, they may be increasing in frequency; and while most originated in Asia in the past, Africa may be poised to become an important source of so-called “zoonotic pathogens”—with its…

In recent decades, zoonotic diseases–those transferred from animals to humans–have gained international attention. Ebola, avian influenza (or bird flu), H1N1 flu virus (or swine flu), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Rift Valley fever, sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), West Nile virus, the Zika virus­–and now, the novel coronavirus COVID-19–have all either caused or threatened to…

Across the World Bank Group, efforts are underway to help governments respond to the crisis triggered by COVID-19. The priority today is to support overwhelmed health systems and the millions of workers and business owners who are being hit hard. Thinking ahead, however, the response also offers a significant opportunity to build a more resilient and sustainable future. A First Phase…