Cardwell Ryan, Ghazalian Pascal L
Department of Agribusiness & Agricultural Economics, University of Manitoba, 352 Dafoe Rd, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada.
Department of Economics, University of Lethbridge, Canada.
World Dev. 2020 Nov;135:105059. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105059. Epub 2020 Jun 28.
The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the need for international food assistance, and disrupting the supply and delivery of food assistance. A series of unprecedented shocks is straining the capacity of food assistance organizations to reach vulnerable populations. We discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the demand and the supply of international food assistance, and we propose three policy changes that can keep food flowing to those in need. First, donor countries can prioritize humanitarian spending in aid-allocation decisions. Second, governments can exempt food assistance from trade barriers that impede procurement (export restrictions) and delivery (import tariffs). Third, donor countries can allow flexibility for implementing agencies by untying food assistance from domestic procurement and shipping restrictions. All of these proposals are regulatory changes that can be made without requiring increased spending. These options are particularly relevant now because donor-country governments are entering economic recessions, and foreign aid budgets will be constrained.
新冠疫情使得对国际粮食援助的需求不断增加，同时也扰乱了粮食援助的供应与交付。一系列前所未有的冲击正使粮食援助组织向弱势群体提供援助的能力不堪重负。我们探讨了新冠疫情如何影响国际粮食援助的需求与供应，并提出三项政策变革建议，以确保粮食能够持续供应给有需要的人群。首先，捐助国可在援助分配决策中优先考虑人道主义支出。其次，各国政府可免除粮食援助面临的贸易壁垒，这些壁垒阻碍了采购（出口限制）和交付（进口关税）。第三，捐助国可通过解除粮食援助与国内采购及运输限制的捆绑，给予执行机构更多灵活性。所有这些提议都是监管层面的变革，无需增加开支即可实施。鉴于捐助国政府正步入经济衰退，对外援助预算将受到限制，这些选项目前尤为重要。
