NGOs call for urgent aid as millions on brink of starvation

In open letter, over 250 NGOs call on governments to intervene as COVID has worsened inequality in conflict areas.

More than 250 NGOs have urgently called on international governments to increase aid and save more than 34 million people on the brink of starvation this year. In an open letter (PDF) addressed to world leaders on Tuesday, groups working to fight against inequality said up to 270 million people are acutely food insecure with millions “teetering on the very edge of famine”. “The combined impacts of conflict, climate change and inequality, coupled with the COVID-19 crisis, have led to an acute food insecurity situation around the world,” the letter, whose key signatories include Oxfam, Save the Children, and the International Rescue Committee, read.