The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from the United Nations signed last Sunday (the 3rd), an agreement for 6.7 million dollars with the head of the United European delegation in Amman to fund food security projects in Yemen. The agreement was signed a few days after the disclosure of a document prepared by FAO itself and the World Food Program at the request of the United Nation’s Food Security Council that shows the situation in eight countries where the greatest number of needy people for emergency food support. The data from the report are alarming. The text reveals that about 55 million people from these 8 countries are suffering from serious food insecurity and need immediate aid: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, and Chad.
Besides that, the data even reveals there is a connection between conflict and continual persistent and mortal starvation. Due to confrontations, the situation got even worse in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, and the basin of Lake Chad at the end of 2018, where the food security situation improved a little. José Graziano da Silva, the director general of FAO, in the preface of the report, classified the situation as “unacceptable for the 21st century”.
Difficult access
The report claimed that the situation is extremely serious: the increased violence against humanitarian workers. Many times, organizations need to suspend their operations and is prejudicial to the most vulnerable populations. In 2018, humanitarian workers and facilities were attacked in all countries included in the report. “We need better and faster access to all conflict zones so that we can reach more civilians who need our help”, declared David Beasley, the Executed Director of the World Food Program, in the preface of the report.
Alarming statistics
In the second semester of 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo reported on the second largest number of people who suffered from acute food insecurity (13 million), impelled by the worsening of the armed conflict.
In South Sudan, where the civil conflicts have been going on for over five years, the low season should start earlier than normal, according to the report, thereby increasing the urgent need to over 5 million from January to March 2019.
“We need better and faster access to all conflict zones so that we can reach more civilians who need our help”
From the other side of the Lake Chad basin, including the northeastern part of Nigeria, the Chad and Diffa region, where the Boko Haram militants are presently located very strongly. There are an estimated 3 million people who will be facing acute food security throughout the year 2019.
In Afghanistan, if urgent support is not supplied to save lives, the percentage of rural Afghans will face acute food shortages that may reach 47% by March, the equivalent of 10.6 million people. In the Central-African Republic, the armed conflict continued being the main factor fostering starvation in 2018, as 1.9 million people suffer from serious food shortages.
Since June, 2016, the UN Security Council has been updating its information on food insecurity for focusing its efforts to resolve conflicts in order to end starvation. After a period of decreasing starvation, it is increasing again in the world. Nowadays, there are more than 820 million people who suffer from chronic under-nourishment, according to FAO that attributes this increase to conflicts, extreme climatic events linked to climate changes and economic deceleration.
Overcoming problems
Food Security, as a primordial factor, for assuring sustainable development will be the theme for the 2019 Brazil Africa Forum, an event that will be promoted by the Brazil Africa Institute in November and it will reunite diverse leaders concerning this subject. For further information on this event visit the www.forumbrazilafrica.com website.