UN warns of impending famine threats

The world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since the United Nations was founded in 1945 with more than 20m people in four countries facing starvation and famine, the UN humanitarian chief has said.

Stephen O’Brien told the UN Security Council that “without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death” and “many more will suffer and die from disease”.

He urged an immediate injection of funds for Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and north-east Nigeria plus safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid “to avert a catastrophe”.

“To be precise,” Mr O’Brien said, “we need $4.4bn (€4.1bn) by July.” Without a major infusion of money, he said, children will be stunted by severe malnutrition and will not be able to go to school — so gains in economic development will be reversed and “livelihoods, futures and hope will be lost”.

UN and food organisations define famine as when more than 30pc of children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition, and mortality rates are two or more deaths per 10,000 people every day.

“Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the UN,” Mr O’Brien said. “Now, more than 20m people across four countries face starvation and famine.”

Mr O’Brien said the largest humanitarian crisis is in Yemen where two thirds of the population — 18.8m people — need aid and more than seven million people are hungry and don’t know where their next meal will come from. “That is three million people more than in January,” he said.

The Arab world’s poorest nation is engulfed in conflict and Mr O’Brien said more than 48,000 people fled fighting just in the past two months.