The Observer reports:

The pandemic has exposed and reinforced deep inequalities across the world, with the true extent yet to be seen, according to a major new report.

The crisis in the poorest countries threatens to escalate into a catastrophe as job losses and food insecurity mount. “The economic, social and political impacts are only starting to unfold,” says Building Back with Justice: Dismantling Inequalities after Covid-19, to be published by Christian Aid later this month.

The number of people facing acute hunger could double to a quarter of a billion in 2020 without urgent support. Some countries have already seen big increases in the cost of food. In parts of Afghanistan, for example, wheat prices have risen 20%.

In India, 80 million migrant workers have lost employment in cities, leaving them hungry and homeless and their families without crucial remittances they depend on.

Routine healthcare, such as immunisation and maternity care, has been severely disrupted. “In many countries, the disruption to non-coronavirus-related healthcare could cause more deaths than the virus itself,” the report says. [Continue reading…]