Next year will see “famines of Biblical proportions” unless the world, especially developed countries, takes action, the head of the World Food Program says.

       David Beasley told ABC News that billions of dollars will be required to avert famine during the second wave of the pandemic, which is expected to peak in a few months. He said the only reason such a catastrophe was averted this year was because affluent countries adopted large-scale economic stimulus programs, and doubted that they have the resources or political will to do so again.

       Beasley compared the hunger crisis to the Titanic: “Right now, we really need to focus on icebergs, and icebergs are famine, starvation, destabilization and migration.”

       He sounded a note of optimism, in that the World Food Program’s recent Nobel Peace Prize has raised the organization’s visibility. “Everybody now wants to meet with the Nobel Peace Prize winner,” he said.