Coronavirus and Famine

The BBC reports that the head of the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, recently urged world leaders to act quickly and wisely: “We could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months.… The truth is we do not have time on our side” (April 21, 2020). He was referring to the deteriorating food situation in multiple poverty-stricken nations around the globe. The recently released Global Report on Food Crises highlights the dramatic needs of the top ten at-risk nations: Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria, and Haiti.

Several of these struggling nations have been hit hard by the ongoing locust plagues, and their food supplies are shrinking quickly. Due to their high rates of poverty, all these nations have millions of residents who can only afford to eat if they are working. Yet, with quarantine mandates, many people are forced to stay at home with no way of obtaining food. Experts fear that death rates due to starvation will far exceed the number of deaths from COVID-19. The BBC noted Beasley’s concern that “30 million people, and possibly more, could die in a matter of months if the UN does not secure more funding and food.” The WFP report estimates that the number of people suffering from hunger could increase from 135 million last year to over 250 million!

Bible prophecies reveal that devastating famines will be among events leading to the end of the age and the return of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:3–8). To learn more about these momentous, prophesied events, read or listen to “Famines and Food Shortages Ahead!”