the food crisis is worsening in countries already in difficulty

Skyrocketing grain prices, more expensive manures and fertilizers, skyrocketing energy costs… the war in Ukraine is disrupting the entire supply chain, amplifying the food crisis to alarming proportions. The impact of the conflict is devastating: in 2021, the World Food Programme, the WFP, estimated that around 270 million people were at risk of hunger. This figure could climb this year to 320 million because of the war in Ukraine.

Thirty countries in the world today are faced with the specter of famine, which particularly affects women and children. According to Jeanne Berger, head of emergency programs at the NGO Care France, famine is rarely the only problem in a country in crisis. Some countries are affected by “protracted, multi-faceted crises”, such as in Yemen or Syria. In addition to armed conflicts, these countries “are marked by drought, by population displacements,” indicates Jeanne Berger. Some crises are rather linked to natural disasters and political instability, such as Haiti.

“Most of the countries that have been affected are countries that were already considered countries in humanitarian crisis and especially in food crisis.”

Jeanne Berger, head of emergency programs at the NGO CARE France

franceinfo

From a financial point of view, the international community mobilized very quickly for the Ukrainian refugees, essential emergency assistance given the scale of the humanitarian crisis. Consequence: there is less money available to help countries in acute food crisis. The UN and NGOs struggle to mobilize donors. Little publicized, the issue of food security does not seem to be at the top of the agenda of the international community. A silent crisis that is wreaking havoc on populations, as in the Horn of Africa where more than 16 million people, according to the United Nations, are threatened with famine, after four years of drought. A figure that could reach 20 million people by September.