SGGP
According to a report recently released by the United Nations (UN), in 2022, more than 258 million people in 58 countries around the world will face the most severe hunger in the past 7 years.
 |
| Yemeni people gather around a charity kitchen |
A stinging indictment
2022 is the fourth consecutive year that the number of people facing hunger has increased to stage 3 (severe) according to the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) - a tool to improve food security analysis, assessment and decision-making.
Of the more than 258 million people facing famine, 108 million in five countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Yemen – are experiencing IPC Phase 3. Dr Manenji Mangundu, director of Oxfam South Sudan, said the famine in the region was so severe that girls as young as 11 were being forced into marriage in exchange for money from their families.
The conflict in Ukraine, climate change, and the negative economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are the main causes of hunger in the world and the global food crisis. Ukraine is considered the breadbasket of Europe. Somalia, one of the countries also heavily affected by famine, imports about 90% of its wheat from Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine has significantly reduced wheat exports, pushing up food prices. The consequences of this conflict have been exacerbated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, causing hunger in 27 countries with 84 million people affected. Meanwhile, climate change has also affected 57 million people in 12 countries.
Act early
Emily Farr, head of food security and the economy at Oxfam, said the famine could have been avoided if the international community had “actually listened”. “Many organisations have been warning for years that this latest famine is part of a long-running cycle of poverty,” Farr said.
To prevent further famines from occurring, experts are calling on the international community to act quickly. This includes raising awareness among communities about how to adapt to climate change, which affects food production; increasing people’s incomes; and supporting peace initiatives. They also stress the need to address the causes of food insecurity, such as the conflict in Ukraine.
“Tackling hunger may seem overwhelming, but we know what works to meet people’s immediate needs and get communities back on track for the future,” said Farr. “We need to get food and money to people in need now to help them rebuild their livelihoods…” Having prevented the worst from happening now, we need to work with communities to prevent it from happening in the future.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the report a damning indictment of humanity's failure to meet the Millennium Development Goal target of reducing extreme poverty and hunger.
Source
Comment (0)