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AGENDA ITEM 2.5

UPDATE ON COVID-19 AND ITS IMPACT ON FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION, AND FOOD SYSTEMS

Thank you, Madam Chairperson,

Argentina has the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

The Group of 77 and China welcomes the FAO’s assessment of the threat of COVID-19 and recommended actions, its response to COVID-19, and its role in the UN systems’ COVID-19 response.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has made the developing countries’ economies to decline steeply, and in some cases catastrophically. Moreover, hundreds of millions of people across the globe, in developed and developing countries alike, risk falling into extreme poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.

Now more than ever, we must remain focused on accelerating the implementation of the people-centered 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to ensure that no country is left behind. To that end, our efforts must be redirected to the immediate challenge caused by the pandemic. We call upon the international community to take coordinated and effective measures to ensure food supply, markets, accessibility and availability, including to the most vulnerable people.

We underline the need of the stimulus measures to tackle inequality and to build resilience of food systems. In this regard, we encourage international and regional financial institutions, as well as bilateral creditors and other commercial and private creditors to provide immediate substantial debt relief, as well as other support measures to developing countries and economies in transition, to help us manage the unfolding crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic while achieving sustainable development. 

The availability of Official Development Assistance (ODA) is also indispensable for our efforts in achieving the SDGs. Therefore, we urge donor countries to honor their ODA commitments and align ODA with the specific national priorities and strategies of developing countries to better meet their development needs. 

We call to put an end to financial labels, economic sanctions and unilateral measures undertaken against international law, which hinders the access to food and livestock amid COVID-19 pandemic.

We would like to assure our support on both prevention and crisis-response measures taken by FAO in addressing the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. We call on FAO to give more attention and use its expertise and big data analytics in providing evidence-based assessments on the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic to food security, nutrition, and food systems in developing countries and economies in transition in short, medium and long terms. We also encourage the FAO to work together with international and regional organizations in providing technical assistance and fostering cooperation, so as to improve food security, agrifood production, processing and distribution during the pandemic.

I thank you.