The pandemic’s impact on major economies has been far worse than that of the 2008 global financial crisis, while entire sections of many developing economies have been wiped out. In just six months, the pandemic has erased a decade of progress in poverty reduction.

The global economy flourished after World War II because the Marshall Plan revived war-ravaged Western Europe. We face a comparable scenario today. Any policy intervention should treat the fight against COVID-19 like a war and the hardest-hit economies like conflict zones.

Torero’s policy recommendations to mitigate the risks of the pandemic on food security and boost post-COVID recovery can be found in his writings and interviews.