FAO: World facing worst food crisis in 70 years
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(right) Amina Dahir holds up an empty cooking pot as she crouches alongside her daughter inside their makeshift home at a settlement near the town of Ainabo, Somalia, Thursday 9 March 2017. As the humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate in early 2017, an estimated 6.2 million people (about half of the population) are either severely food insecure or in need of livelihood support. Severe drought is now affecting all regions, following the failure of two or more consecutive rains, and with the last ‘Deyr’ season (October-December) performing poorly and large areas receiving less than 40 percent normal rainfall. The ongoing drought and other shocks have left communities with little or no remaining resources. Entire villages have lost their crops or seen their livestock die. The prices for water and locally produced food have risen dramatically, and thousands of people are on the move in search of food and water. The drought is also exacerbating the existing nutrition crisis in the country, w
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcome the UN Security Council’s recognition of conflict as a major cause of famine, and the call to enhance longer-term recovery and resilience of conflict-affected countries, AVA Diplomatic reports.
According to a press release published by the FAO Representation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, FAO’s response comes after the UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement acknowledging the link between conflict and famine.
“We know through our work that countries with the highest levels of food insecurity are also those most affected by conflict,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano Da Silva. “FAO reaffirms our commitment to work with the UN system and Member Nations to address conflict-related food insecurity, and we echo the Security Council’s call for greater access in conflict-affected countries so we can reach those in need,” he said.
The world faces one of the largest food crises in 70 years, with 20 million people in four countries – northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen – at risk of famine. If no action is taken, an additional 10 million will be threatened by famine. In fact, civil conflict is the driving factor in nine of the 10 worst humanitarian crises, underscoring the strong linkage between conflict and hunger. Post-conflict countries with high food insecurity are 40 percent more likely to relapse into conflict within a 10-year timespan.
FAO has long raised awareness on the link between conflict and hunger, including when the Director General addressed the Security Council in July. FAO, with the European Union, the World Food Programme and other partners, provides regular updates on food security to the UN Security Council and publishes an annual Global Report on Food Crises.
In a marshland area of South Sudan, the link between conflict and famine is clear. Families have fled violence to seek safety in the swamp, but they have very little means to feed themselves and hunger levels have soared. They are surviving on life-saving deliveries of food and fish they catch themselves using emergency fishing kits provided by FAO.
Agriculture is often the main livelihood for the majority of people in conflict-affected situations, even as violence rages around them. For this reason FAO works with its partners in often extremely challenging security contexts to provide rural livelihood support. In Syria, for example, an FAO survey in 2016 found that over 75 percent of households in rural areas still grow food for their own consumption, even if at a reduced scale.
Investing in sustainable food production can also be a pathway to peace. FAO has developed a corporate peacebuilding policy to amplify its contribution to conflict prevention. In Colombia, FAO has partnered with the country’s Rural Development Agency to support policies aimed at restoring rural areas that were affected by armed conflict, to bolster the peace process by rebuilding rural communities, and to increase the country’s agricultural competitiveness.
Combining efforts to restore and support resilient livelihoods with peacebuilding and conflict resolution efforts is critical for sustainable development and food security. Equally, investing in food security may strengthen efforts to prevent conflict and achieve sustained peace.
