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Link between conflict and hunger in 8 crisis zones persistent & deadly
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Tuesday, 29 January, 2019, 15 : 00 PM [IST]
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New York
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The situation in the eight places in the world with the highest number of people in need of emergency food support shows that the link between conflict and hunger remains all too persistent and deadly.
This was stated by a report which was titled Monitoring food security in countries with conflict situations, and released recently by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). It was prepared for the UN Security Council, which, in May, adopted a landmark resolution on preventing hunger in conflict zones.
The situation in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Yemen worsened in the latter part of 2018 largely because of conflict, while Somalia, Syria and the Lake Chad Basin have seen some improvements in line with improved security.
In total, about 56 million people are in need of urgent food and livelihood assistance across the eight conflict zones.
“This report clearly demonstrates the impact of armed violence on the lives and livelihoods of millions of men, women, boys and girls caught up in conflict,” stated Jose Graziano da Silva, director general, FAO in the foreword to the report.
“I would strongly encourage you to keep in mind that behind these seemingly dry statistics are real people experiencing rates of hunger that are simply unacceptable in the 21st century,” he added.
The report stated, “Violence against humanitarian workers is growing, sometimes forcing organizations to suspend operations and deprive vulnerable populations of humanitarian assistance.”
In 2018, aid workers and facilities were attacked in all the countries covered in the report.
“This report shows again the tragic link between conflict and hunger and how it still pervades far too much of the world. We need better and quicker access in all conflict zones, so we can get to more of the civilians who need our help. But what the world needs most of all is an end to the wars,” David Beasley, executive director, World Food Programme, stated in the foreword.
Condemnation of starvation as a tool of war
The UN Security Council’s Resolution 2417 was an unambiguous condemnation of starvation as a tool of war.
It called on all parties to armed conflict to comply with their obligations under the International Humanitarian Law to minimise the impact of military actions on civilians, including on food production and distribution, and to allow humanitarian access in a safe and timely manner to civilians needing lifesaving food, nutritional and medical assistance.
“The millions of men, women and children going hungry as a result of armed conflict will not be reduced unless and until these fundamental principles are followed,” the report stated.
Unprecedented and unacceptable hunger
The growing number of protracted conflicts in the world is creating unprecedented and unacceptable levels of hunger.
Yemen’s three-year war is a stark demonstration of the urgent need for a cessation of hostilities to address the world’s largest food security emergency.
In its country analysis, the report stated that conflicting parties disregarded the protected status of humanitarian facilities and personnel, which made scaling-up operations to prevent famine a difficult and dangerous endeavour.
In the second half of 2018, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had the second highest number (13 million) of acutely food-insecure people, driven by a rise in armed conflict.
In South Sudan, where civil strife has persisted for over five years, the lean season is expected to start earlier than normal, pushing those in need of urgent support up to over five million between January and March 2019, according to the report.
Across the Lake Chad Basin, including north-eastern Nigeria, Chad’s Lac region and Niger’s Diffa, where Boko Haram militants are active, a major deterioration in food security is projected during this year’s lean season (i.e., between June and August 2019), and three million people are expected to face acute food insecurity.
In Afghanistan, the percentage of the rural population facing acute food deficits is projected to reach 47 per cent (or 10.6 million people) by March if urgent life-saving assistance is not provided.
In the Central African Republic, armed conflict remained the main driver of hunger in 2018, with 1.9 million people experiencing severe food deficits.
It was the fifth report produced by FAO and WFP for the UN Security Council since June 2016.
Its aim is to provide UN Security Council members with up-to-date food insecurity information and to reinforce the urgent need to target efforts towards resolving conflict in order to end hunger.
It is part of a wider effort by FAO, WFP, the European Union (EU) and other partners to monitor and analyse global food crises in order to provide coordinated and timely information and responses.
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