Food crisis set to worsen United Nations
The United Nations says the number of people without enough to eat on a daily basis reached an alltime high last year, and is poised to hit ‘‘appalling’’ new levels as the Ukraine war affects global food production.
Almost 193 million people in 53 countries suffered acute food insecurity in 2021, due to what the UN said was a ‘‘toxic triple combination’’ of conflict, weather extremes, and the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The UN said the total number of people without adequate food every day increased by 40 million last year, confirming a ‘‘worrisome trend’’ of annual increases over several years.
The figures appear in the Global Report on Food Crisis, produced jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the European Union.
Countries experiencing protracted conflicts, including Afghanistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, had the most foodinsecure populations, according to the report.
The report forecasts that Somalia will face one of the world’s worst food crises in 2022 due to prolonged drought, increasing food prices and persistent violence.
‘‘If more is not done to support rural communities, the scale of the devastation in terms of hunger and lost livelihoods will be appalling,’’ it said. ‘‘Urgent humanitarian action is needed on a massive scale to prevent that from happening.’’
The war in Ukraine poses further risks for Somalia and many other African countries that reply on Ukraine and Russia for wheat, fertiliser and other food supplies.
WFP chief economist Arif Husain said the UN agency projected that an additional 47 million people would become food insecure ‘‘in crisis or worse situation’’ because of the war in
Ukraine, as a result of higher food and fuel prices and inflation.
Even before the war, people were dealing with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and reduced incomes, while food prices were at a 10-year high and fuel prices were at a seven-year high, Husain said.
The UN previously said the war was helping to send prices for commodities such as grains and vegetable oils to record highs, threatening millions with hunger and malnourishment.
‘‘There is real cause for concern of how this will amplify the acute food needs that exist in these food crisis countries,’’ said Rein Paulsen, director of the FAO’s office of emergencies and resilience.
He said the percentage of the world’s population who were in acute food insecurity had risen from just over 11% in 2016 to just over 22% in 2021.
At the same time, Paulsen said, funding to help them had dropped, which was a huge concern.
In 2021, US$8.1 billion was available for emergency work, a 25% drop from 2017, he said.
The report calls for greater investment in agriculture, and appeals for US$1.5b to help farmers in at-risk regions with the upcoming planting season, to help stabilise and increase local food production.
Husain said his message to rich nations in the G7 and G20 was that food insecurity and hunger around the world were ‘‘exploding’’.
‘‘If we don’t address these issues, we end up paying frankly thousand times more just a few years down the road.’’
He said the world had seen this happen with the Syrian war and outpouring of migrants to Europe, with Afghanistan, and with Central Americans and Haitians trying to enter the United States.
‘‘We need to put the same energy collectively that we put into addressing the Covid-19 pandemic into addressing acute hunger ... It’s about political will and focus.’’
The World Bank has approved a new project to strengthen the climate resilience, safety and liveability of urban areas of the Marshall Islands.
The US$30 million (NZ$45m) Urban Resilience Project includes support for more climate-resilient public facilities and urban spaces, and assistance for climate adaptation planning and policies.
The project also includes the construction of coastal protection, including sea walls, dikes and embankments, to protect important infrastructure in the capital, Majuro.
The Marshall Islands’ urban centres are some of the most densely populated areas in the Pacific, and internal migration from outer islands has intensified over the past 30 years. The lowlying atoll nation is already highly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as sea level rise, tropical storms, typhoons, and prolonged droughts.
‘‘There is increasing pressure on our efforts to ensure there is appropriate housing, urban infrastructure and services,’’ said Works, Infrastructure and Utilities Minister Jiba Kabua.