Tag: Availability

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Business

UN says the worldwide meals disaster is about affordability, not availability

UN says the global food crisis is about affordability, not availability

Food prices remain stubbornly high as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on, exacerbating existing pressure from supply chain disruptions and climate change.

The war has “put a lot of fuel on an already burning fire,” said Arif Husain, chief economist at the United Nations World Food Programme.

Ukraine is a major producer of commodities such as wheat, corn and sunflower oil. Although exports globally have been restricted due to Russia’s invasion, Husain said that the global food crisis is not driven by the availability of food, but surging prices.

“This crisis is about affordability, meaning there is food available, but the prices are really high” he said on CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Monday.

According to figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, global food prices in July were 13% higher than a year ago. And prices could keep rising. In its worst-case scenario, the UN estimates global food prices could jump another 8.5% by 2027.

Fertilizer prices are also rising, contributing to higher food prices as costs are passed onto consumers. Prices jumped after Russia — which accounts for around 14% of global fertilizer exports — limited exports. That in turn has dented crop yields.

That, combined with high energy prices and supply chain disruptions, will affect the World Bank’s ability to respond to the increase in food production over the next two years, said Mari Pangestu, managing director of development policy and partnerships at the World Bank. All that uncertainty could keep prices high beyond 2024, she said.

While the UN’s Husain argued the current crisis mostly stems from high prices and affordability issues, he said it could turn into a food availability crisis if the fertilizer crunch is not resolved.

The UN estimates the number of people in “hunger emergencies,” which it defines as one step away from famine, has jumped from 135 million in 2019 to 345 million, Husain said.

Heat wave in China

Extreme weather and climate change are also exacerbating conditions contributing to global food insecurity. China, the world’s biggest wheat producer, has suffered multiple weather disruptions, from flash floods to severe droughts.

Earlier this month, the country issued its first drought emergency as central and southern provinces suffered weeks of extreme heat, with temperatures in dozens of cities exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat wave has hindered crop production and jeopardized livestock.

“Rice production is certainly very vulnerable to changes in weather temperature,” said Bruno Carrasco, director general of the sustainable development and climate change department at the Asian Development Bank. “When we look at the overall supply of food production in Asia-Pacific, approximately 60% of that is rain-fed farming.”

“We are very concerned given the overall weather events that we’ve seen and observed over the course of the year,” he added.

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Health

What to Know of Covid-19 Antibody Medication: Price, Availability and Extra

What to Know of Covid-19 Antibody Drugs: Cost, Availability and More

Two new antibody treatments have shown promise in keeping high-risk Covid-19 patients out of the hospital.

Although President Trump, who received Regeneron treatment in October and lauded it as a “cure,” received a boost in advertising, the drugs have not been widely distributed since they were approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration last month.

Now federal and state health authorities are calling on patients and doctors to seek treatments.

Here’s what you need to know.

The two treatments by Eli Lilly and Regeneron are the first drugs specifically designed for Covid-19 and approved by the FDA. They are made from artificially synthesized copies of the antibodies that humans naturally produce when their immune systems fight off an infection. Eli Lilly’s drug consists of an antibody. Regeneron’s is a cocktail of two.

Early data showed that it can prevent hospitalization in people at high risk of serious complications from the disease. Clinical studies continue. The treatments are believed to help turn the virus off shortly after infection.

Treatments can be given to anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus, is at high risk of developing a severe form of the disease, and occurs within 10 days of symptoms first appearing.

This includes people who are at least 65 years old and those who are obese or have diseases such as diabetes.

The treatments are not approved for people who have already been hospitalized or need oxygen, as studies in these groups have not shown the drugs to work well.

Under agreements each company has made with the federal government, the doses are free, although some patients may have to pay for the administration of the drug, which must be infused by a healthcare provider, depending on insurance coverage.

Monoclonal antibody treatments are difficult and time consuming to manufacture, which has limited the number of doses made by drug manufacturers.

The federal government has bought 950,000 cans from Eli Lilly and 300,000 cans from Regeneron. Pharmaceutical companies have already dispensed hundreds of thousands of these doses, with the rest expected in late January.

Nobody knows, but many of the cans that have been distributed so far have remained unused and are sitting in hospital refrigerators.

While the federal government has nearly 532,000 doses of the two drugs available and nearly 291,000 doses have been shipped, neither the government nor the drug companies have complete data on how many of these doses have been given to patients.

The subset of hospitals that report data to the government on the number of doses administered has, on average, used only 20 percent of their supply, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The drugs are used unevenly across the country. Some hospitals cannot get enough doses. Others haven’t even used much of what they got so far.

Several factors have contributed to the underutilization: Hospitals are overwhelmed by the virus flood and are focusing on the first vaccines. And they need to be housed in their crowded facilities where the treatments can be infused over a period of hours without spreading the virus to others.

Some patients have been reluctant to engage in treatments, be it because they are unwilling to go to a clinic while feeling sick, lack of transportation, or because they perceive the drugs as connected people only for patients who are felt to be good. And the scarcity of treatments adds to their underuse as some hospitals withhold supplies for fear of leakage.

There is no single hotline or website that patients can use to find a provider who offers the treatments.

Many health systems have put in place ways to identify and contact eligible patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus at test sites or in doctor’s offices. However, these referral systems vary from municipality to municipality.

Eli Lilly’s support line for treatment is 1-855-545-5921. A Regeneron spokeswoman recommended that patients or doctors contact the state health department.

Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Eli Lilly’s chief scientist, said he advises friends and family members to call the company’s hotline. “If you are persistent and you qualify, you will get it,” he said.