Many Middle Eastern countries were experiencing heightened levels of food insecurity even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Economic shocks related to regional and global lockdown measures, and conflict in some parts of the region have further reduced food security. It is expected that the regional food security situation will remain precarious for the foreseeable future.
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- Many countries in the Middle East were already vulnerable to food insecurity and economic shocks before the events of 2020.
- As lockdown measures took effect, incomes and employment fell drastically.
- Pandemic-related lockdowns and a crash in oil prices have devastated some of the economies of the region, especially among the already-vulnerable.
- Economic shocks and falling incomes have eroded food security, especially for the region’s poorest. Refugees and those in vulnerable countries have been especially affected.
Starting in late 2019 a series of crises gripped the Middle East, leaving economies in chaos and eroding food security in much of the region. Ongoing conflicts and economic instability have left several countries in the Middle East especially vulnerable to the events of this period. An economic crash has left Lebanon in a rapidly deteriorating situation that has also impacted its neighbours, while Yemen, Syria and Iraq have all been left vulnerable to shocks, due to ongoing or recent conflicts. Other countries in the region have also faced difficult food security contexts due to ongoing recessions or the presence of large refugee populations (who can face particular difficulties in accessing food).The multiple crises of 2020 have been catastrophic for economies across the region, with economies sharply contracting around March 2020. Unemployment rates, already among the highest in the world, peaked as informal and formal employment opportunities fell, as lockdown measures took place. As a result, remittances – which are a vital source of income for some households – also fell sharply. The region’s well-documented vulnerability to oil price shocks was also a source of major economic distress. Oil prices briefly turned negative in April 2020, for the first time in history, which not only caused problems for the Middle East’s oil-exporting countries, but also had no real benefit for oil importers in the region. While the sector has stabilised, it is possible that oil prices may never recover to pre-2020 levels.
Read the article by Phoebe Sleet, Research Analyst, Global Food and Water Crises Research Programme in Future Directions International.