The IMF declared at the beginning of April that we have entered into “the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression”. Yesterday, their perspective was confirmed when figures released for the US showed a rate of 4.8 percent decline. Today, the figures are out showing a 3.8 percent contraction in one quarter in the Eurozone. The disastrous handling of the coronavirus pandemic sharpened an economic crisis that was already in the making.

In the weeks and months to come, the world could be facing “multiple famines of biblical proportions”. These are the words of David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP). With war, poverty and now a pandemic spreading across the globe, recent predictions are showing that the worst-off are being hit harder than ever, with millions likely to be forced into extreme hunger and starvation within the year.