The coronavirus pandemic is hampering the fight against locusts, which have been devastating crops in many countries in the region in recent months.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with the wave of border closures and the suspension of international flights, deliveries of pesticides and equipment to control the locust swarms are being disrupted. Analysts fear that the viral disease is capturing all the attention of the international community to the detriment of locust control. According to FAO, the pests still pose an unprecedented threat to food security and the livelihoods of many households in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

While it has appealed for $153 million in funding for locust control, the UN agency has so far been able to mobilize only $107 million, according to data reported by Bloomberg.