UN report: Unprecedented threats to global food security due to conflict

A UN report on the food crisis revealed that the number of people facing food insecurity and in need of urgent food assistance continues to rise, especially in countries and regions where the scale and severity of the food crisis exceeds local resources and capacities.

The United Nations published a report, on the occasion of World Food Day, on Friday, highlighting the unprecedented threats facing global food security.

World Food Day 2022 comes in the midst of a deepening food security crisis that is casting its shadow over the world and unprecedented numbers of people at risk of suffering from severe levels of hunger in Asia and Africa.

In addition to the 970,000 people at risk of starvation in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, the number of people facing hunger around the world is rising, according to the latest FAO report on the state of food security and nutrition in the world.

In a message marking World Food Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that World Food Day 2022 comes at a critical moment in terms of global food security.

He warned that the number of people affected by hunger has more than doubled in the past three years. Approximately one million people live in conditions of famine, where they are in danger of dying and dying from starvation.

There are a staggering 3 billion (billion) people who cannot afford a healthy diet.

Guterres said the most vulnerable communities were suffering the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis, environmental degradation, and widening conflict and inequality, noting that the war in Ukraine had led to rapidly rising food and fertilizer prices.

He pointed out that "we can reverse all these trends, if we put our hands in the hands of each other. The available quantities of food this year are sufficient to meet the needs of all people in the world. But farmers urgently need to obtain fertilizers at a reasonable cost to secure the sufficient amount of food next year. ".

The Secretary-General emphasized that governments, scientists, the private sector and civil society must work together to make nutrient-rich diets accessible and affordable.

Financial institutions need to increase their support to developing countries, so they can help their people and invest in food systems.

He stressed the need to "work together to move from the narrowness of despair to the spaciousness of hope and action, calling on everyone "to be on World Food Day and every day an active element in the process of change."

In turn, the Executive Director of the World Food Program, David Beasley, said that there could be a “crisis in food availability as the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine and climate change threaten to disrupt global food production in the coming months. It is therefore imperative for the world to open its eyes to this global food crisis.” unprecedented and to act now to prevent it from spiraling out of control."