The ripple effect of the Ukraine war has triggered price spikes, especially in areas characterized by marginalized rural areas and fragmented agricultural systems, according to a joint report called the ripple effect of the war in Ukraine. joint report named Famine Hotspots – FAO-WFP Early Warning of Severe Food Insecurity.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) called Urgent humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods and prevent hunger in 20 ‘famine hotspots’, where urgent need is projected to increase, between now and September.
Run with time
Amidst the many food crises looming – from conflict, climate shocks, COVID-19 consequential, large public debt burden and now the war in Ukraine – conditions are expected to be especially acute when economic instability and rising prices combine with reduced climate-driven food production .
“We are deeply concerned about the combined effects of overlapping crises that jeopardize people’s ability to produce and access food, pushing millions of others into severities of loss of life. serious food security.‘ FAO Director-General QU Dongyu warned.
“We are in a Race against time to help the farmer in the worst-affected countries, including rapidly increasing their potential food production and strengthening their resilience in the face of challenges”.
Water trampled on
Along with conflict, the report shows that frequent and repeated climate shocks continue to cause severe hunger and suggests that we have entered a ‘new normal’ where droughts, floods, Floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes continually wreak havoc on agriculture and livestock farming, displacing populations and pushing millions to the brink in countries around the world.
“We are facing a perfect storm that will not only hurt the poorest of the poor – it will also overwhelmed millions of families, who have so far only topped the waterWFP Executive Director David Beasley warned.
Need to act fast
According to the report, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain on ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with dire conditions, and Afghanistan and Somalia are new entries in this worrying category as of the report. the final hot spot, announced in January.
These six countries all have segments of the population facing IPC stage 5 ‘Disaster’ levels, which are at risk of degradation under catastrophic conditions, with up to 750,000 people facing famine and died.
And 400,000 people are in Ethiopia’s acne-prone Tigray region – the highest number recorded in a country, since the 2011 Somali famine.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, the Sahel, Sudan and Syria are countries of ‘very high concern’, as in the previous edition of this report – with Kenya now added list.
Angola, Lebanon, Madagascar and Mozambique also remain famine hotspots, with Sri Lanka, Benin, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe, Guinea and Ukraine, now added.
“The condition is now much worse than the Arab Spring of 2011 and the 2007-2008 food price crisisas 48 countries are rocked by political unrest, riots and protests,” warned the head of WFP.
Source: WFP / FAO
The prevalence of the analyzed population is expressed as a percentage.
Before the disaster
The report makes country-specific recommendations for immediate humanitarian assistance to save lives, prevent hunger, and protect livelihoods.
In the context of a recent G7 commitment To strengthen predictive action in humanitarian and development assistance – to prevent predictable hazards from turning into full-blown humanitarian disasters, FAO and WFP have partnered to strengthen pre-emptive responses. .
In this critical moment between early warning and shock, UN agencies advocate for flexible humanitarian funding to better anticipate needs and protect communities.
Evidence shows that for every $1 invested in actions intended to protect lives and livelihoods, up to $7 can be saved by avoiding damage to communities impacted by disaster, according to the report.
“We have solutions. But we need to act, and act quickly,” emphasized Mr. Beasley.
