UAE shores up food security amid virus

UAE shores up food security amid virus

The UAE government has been keenly observing the issue of food security over the years. Reuters The coronavirus pandemic has thrown one issue that's been holding the world, particularly poor nations, in a vice-like grip: food shortages. The virus has made good, nutritious food all the more scarce while millions go to bed hungry. In this context, feeding a growing global population while minimising our environmental impact was the focus of Expo 2020 Dubai's latest virtual thematic programme, Expo Talks: Food, Agriculture and Livelihoods. The programme explored the urgent need for efficient, inclusive and resilient food systems in a world where, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), more than 690 million people go to bed hungry, and where the fallout from COVID-19 has doubled the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity to more than 270 million. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, said, "Today, food security stands as a hallowed and unassailable tenet of true human dignity. The capacity of all nations was tested in the early weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed the vulnerability of our global food value chain."Mariam Bint