IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS ON THE STATE OF FOOD SECURITY AND TREATMENT OF MEDICAL WASTE

Abstract

The article focuses on the results of a new analysis conducted by the World Bank, according to which the COVID-19 pandemic threatens not only economic development, but also the achievements of the last decade in the fields of health and education, environmental protection. Examples of slowing down economic activity through the introduction of quarantine and reducing the anthropogenic impact on the environment are given. Crises such as epidemics and economic downturns usually divert attention from global environmental issues. The authors of the article argue that in the future, advocates of sustainable environmental development, renewable energy and conscious consumption will need to make even greater efforts to prevent society from rolling back to dirty technologies, and for funding and public support they will need to demonstrate how the same Climate change corresponds to today's problems. It has been proven that the slowdown in economic activity due to the epidemic is a serious challenge to the environment, on the one hand, and opportunities – on the other. After a recession and reduced emissions, there is usually a rapid increase. States are investing heavily in large-scale production and infrastructure projects to quickly create jobs and emerge from the crisis. It is now extremely important that these investments take place on the principles of sustainable development. It is impossible to allow the construction of new coal-fired CHPs, disposable plastic plants, and the development of new oil fields. Also in this article, the authors analyze two key aspects of the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, environment and society: geospatial aspects of food security and the accumulation of problems in the field of medical waste. The importance of the former is recognized at the highest level, and the ideologue of its solution – the UN World Food Program – became the 2020 Nobel Laureate. At the same time, the main environmental commandment "reuse, recycle, reduce" in a pandemic does not work. Everyone buys medical masks, although their effectiveness has been proven to protect healthy people from the virus for a short period of time (masks should be changed every two hours and worn if you are near an infected person or have symptoms of the virus yourself). It is already known that South Korea, followed by the EU, is developing a plan of green economic incentives to overcome the crisis. The UN is urging other countries to make sure their post-crisis investments are climate-friendly. Ukraine should follow suit, creating environmental and economic recovery plans now. In particular, it is important to support green business and reorient dirty production, as well as look for optimal ways to handle medical waste.