May 28th is Global Hunger Day - global crisis must not become a forgotten statistic

If the world doesn’t pay attention, the 811 million people struggling to find food in the world’s hungriest places will become a forgotten statistic, Head of Programmes, Plan International Ireland Dualta Roughneen says.

Roughneen said the media spotlight on Ukraine must widen to bring the worsening global hunger crisis out of the shadows, a crisis affecting more people than the entire combined population of Europe. It will be too late if resources are not increased.

“As the devastating conflict in Ukraine escalates, one of its effects has been a rapid increase in food prices and fuel costs, which can only worsen the global hunger situation.

“We really are at a tipping point for hunger. If life-saving humanitarian assistance is not urgently stepped up, the reality is 300,000 people could starve to death every single day and humanitarian organisations are faced with the impossible choice between feeding the hungry and feeding the starving. We must act now,” Roughneen said.

With spiralling costs of food and fuel, there is now a real risk of cuts to life-saving humanitarian assistance, at a time when it is most needed, warn Plan International, adding that it is important that donors do not cut funding at this critical time.

Even prior to the Ukraine conflict, the global hunger crisis has been steadily worsening over the past months due to escalating food prices, ongoing conflicts, climate shocks such as floods or drought, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We all have the same rights and it is important we have the same compassion for the people caught up in these disasters, as with the Ukraine conflict. That means everyone, humanitarian organisations, our donors and supporters,” Roughneen added.

The United Nations Security Council will have a focus in May on the global hunger crisis, with food insecurity prominent on their agenda, and while a pledging event in Geneva recently for the Horn of Africa is said to have raised $1 billion, many humanitarian agencies believe this is an overstatement – and all agree more funding is needed.

GLOBAL HUNGER DAY

Some 811 million people are struggling to find food and at least 45 million children are suffering from wasting, which is the most visible and severe form of malnutrition, and is potentially life-threatening. That’s almost equivalent to the entire population of Spain.

Global Hunger Day this year falls on Saturday, 28th May. For more information, visit plan-international.org/hungriest-places-on-earth/

Violence and armed conflict in northern Mozambique has caused one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in the world. The conflict has destroyed people's jobs, lives and hopes for the future and has left hundreds of thousands of people in Cabo Delgado with no access to their lands and no means of earning a living. Families are living a hand to mouth existence, causing food insecurity and malnutrition to increase. 15-year-old Beti (pictured) lives with her grandmother and seven siblings at resettlement centre in Chiure District. "Here in the centre I can only eat two times a day. I only eat rice and green peas. When we have food, my grandmother puts it on one plate for us to share. Then she eats whatever is left over from the plate. I am worried that if we do not have food, my grandmother will not eat."