With the growing number of hungry populations around the world, the World Food Programme is donating to food insecure countries, a United Nations World Food Program representative said this week.

About 695 million people suffer from hunger, and the World Food Program is focusing on the most vulnerable 138 million people this year, said chief marketing officer of World Food Program USA Jessamyn Sarmiento.

“Those people don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” said Sarmiento, who has been working for the World Food Program for two years. “That could eventually mean death for them if they are not helped.”

The WFP focuses on the most fragile countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, which suffer from war and extreme weather events, said Sarmiento in a recorded address to about 200 students at Boston University.

Water scarcity negatively affects food production, and about 3 billion people will be living in water-scarce countries by 2025, straining the supply of the necessary resource, according to 2010 article in a journal called Food Policy.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on WFP’s ability to help on the ground as a quarter of a billion people could suffer hunger by the end of the year due to the pandemic, said Sarmiento.

“COVID-19 is creating a hunger emergency unlike anything the world has ever seen before,” said Sarmiento.

Little social distancing, no access to soap and water, and already lessened health of people in these countries combines coronavirus and hunger, said Sarmiento.

In Nigeria, around 40% of people live under the poverty line with no savings and cannot quarantine, resulting in deaths from the military enforcing lockdowns, according to a 2020 article by Nigerian photographer Bernard Kalu.

Latin America has experienced an almost 200 percent increase in hunger and food insecurity due to COVID-19, said Sarmiento.

The World Food Programme is providing to countries like India in the form of food and cash vouchers or cards, said Sarmiento.

People in Bangladesh receive rice and lentils as well as money on cards or cash vouchers for fresh foods, all provided by the World Food Program, said Sarmiento.

The World Food Programme is the epicenter of the humanitarian community, full of global humanitarian response hubs including China, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates, said Sarmiento.

The WFP also has regional hubs in Ethiopia and Ghana and helps build infrastructure like roads and bridges to aid in resource delivery, said Sarmiento.

The required budget for the WFP is 12 billion, said Sarmiento. However, the WFP is appealing for the remaining $4.9 billion they need for the rest of the year.

Although the primary donors for the World Food Programme are national governments, individuals can also help donate to the program, said Sarmiento.

Donations as small as 50 cents can provide a meal for a child, and single-amount donations can feed families for a month, said Sarmiento.

“Every single dollar makes a difference,” said Sarmiento. “The average person can be part of the solution.”