UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday of the repercussions of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which could result in “a hurricane of famines” in many countries.
“Ukraine is on fire” and “the country is being decimated before the eyes of the world”. “We must do everything we can to avoid a hurricane of famines and a collapse of the global food system,” he told media in New York.
Due to the blockage of agricultural production in Ukraine and Russia, the war should, in its repercussions, hit “the poorest hardest and sow the seeds of political instability and unrest throughout the world”, underlined Antonio Guterres .
“This war goes far beyond Ukraine,” he also said.
“Grain prices have already exceeded those of the start of the Arab Spring and the food riots of 2007-2008”. “The FAO (Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) global food price index is at its highest level ever,” he said.
This war goes well beyond Ukraine.
— Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General
In total, “45 African and least developed countries import at least a third of their wheat from Ukraine or Russia — 18 of these countries import at least 50%. This includes countries like Burkina Faso, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen,” the UN chief said, again calling for a halt. as soon as possible hostilities.
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