The U.N. food chief warned Thursday that the world is facing 바카라a global emergency of unprecedented magnitude,바카라 with up to 345 million people marching toward starvation 바카라 and 70 million pushed closer to starvation by the war in Ukraine.
David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told the U.N. Security Council that the 345 million people facing acute food insecurity in the 82 countries where the agency operates is 2½ times the number of acutely food insecure people before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
The U.N. food chief warned Thursday that the world is facing 바카라a global emergency of unprecedented magnitude,바카라 with up to 345 million people marching toward starvation 바카라 and 70 million pushed closer to starvation by the war in Ukraine.
David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told the U.N. Security Council that the 345 million people facing acute food insecurity in the 82 countries where the agency operates is 2½ times the number of acutely food insecure people before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
He said it is incredibly troubling that 50 million of those people in 45 countries are suffering from very acute malnutrition and are 바카라knocking on famine's door.바카라
바카라What was a wave of hunger is now a tsunami of hunger,바카라 he said, pointing to rising conflict, the pandemic's economic ripple effects, climate change, rising fuel prices and the war in Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, Beasley said, soaring food, fuel and fertilizer costs have driven 70 million people closer to starvation.
Despite the agreement in July allowing Ukrainian grain to be shipped from three Black Sea ports that had been blockaded by Russia and continuing efforts to get Russian fertilizer back to global markets, 바카라there is a real and dangerous risk of multiple famines this year,바카라 he said. 바카라And in 2023, the current food price crisis could develop into a food availability crisis if we don't act.바카라
The Security Council was focusing on conflict-induced food insecurity and the risk of famine in Ethiopia, northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen. But Beasley and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths also warned about the food crisis in Somalia, which they both recently visited, and Griffiths also put Afghanistan high on the list.
바카라Famine will happen in Somalia,바카라 Griffiths said, and 바카라be sure it won't be the only place either.바카라
He cited recent assessments that identified 바카라hundreds of thousands of people facing catastrophic levels of hunger,바카라 meaning they are at the worst 바카라famine바카라 level.
Beasley recalled his warning to the council in April 2020 바카라that we were then facing famine, starvation of biblical proportions.바카라 He said then the world 바카라stepped up with funding and tremendous response, and we averted catastrophe.바카라
바카라We are on the edge once again, even worse, and we must do all that we can 바카라 all hands on deck with every fiber of our bodies,바카라 he said. 바카라The hungry people of the world are counting on us, and 바카라 we must not let them down.바카라
Griffiths said the widespread and increasing food insecurity is a result of the direct and indirect impact of conflict and violence that kills and injures civilians, forces families to flee the land they depend on for income and food, and leads to economic decline and rising prices for food that they can't afford.
After more than seven years of war In Yemen, he said, 바카라some 19 million people 바카라 six out of 10 바카라 are acutely food insecure, an estimated 160,000 people are facing catastrophe, and 538,000 children are severely malnourished.바카라
Beasley said the Ukraine war is stoking inflation in Yemen, which is 90% reliant on food imports. The World Food Program hopes to provide aid to about 18 million people, but its costs have risen 30% this year to $2.6 billion. As a result, it has been forced to cut back, so Yemenis this month are getting only two-thirds of their previous rations, he said.
Beasley said South Sudan faces 바카라its highest rate of acute hunger since its independence in 2011바카라 from Sudan. He said 7.7 million people, over 60% of the population, are 바카라facing critical or worse levels of food insecurity.바카라 Without a political solution to escalating violence and substantial spending on aid programs, 바카라many people in South Sudan will die,바카라 he warned.
In northern Ethiopia's Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions, more than 13 million people need life-saving food, Griffiths said. He pointed to a survey in Tigray in June that found 89% of people food insecure, 바카라more than half of them severely so.바카라 Beasley said a truce in March enabled WFP and its partners to reach almost 5 million people in the Tigray area, but resumed fighting in recent weeks 바카라threatens to push many hungry, exhausted families over the edge.바카라
In northeast Nigeria, the U.N. projects that 4.1 million people are facing high levels of food insecurity, including 588,000 who faced emergency levels between June and August, Griffiths said. He said almost half of those people couldn't be reached because of insecurity, and the U.N. fears 바카라some people may already be at the level of catastrophe and already dying.바카라
Griffiths urged the Security Council to 바카라leave no stone unturned바카라 in trying to end these conflicts, and to step up financing for humanitarian operations, saying U.N. appeals in those four countries are all 바카라well below half of the required funding.바카라