‘Without food security there is no security’
The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly brought together the expertise of UN officials, governments and civil society to recommend solutions to the ever-growing issue of conflict-based food security. The Executive Director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley said, “If you don’t have food security, you’re not going to have any other security. So we have to address the fundamentals.” The high-level side panel discussed the world crisis in food security in 2017 and noted that there are shockingly 11 million more people facing hunger than in 2016. One out of every nine people in the world are now facing starvation.
Conflict-related hunger
The UN report ‘The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2018’ examined drivers that were studied, looking into why hunger occurred in each area studied. Conflict was found to be a driver in more than 60 percent of people facing crisis-level food insecurity in 2017. The Global Report on Food crises report found that there were 11 million more people facing life-threatening levels of food insecurity in 2017 than in 2016. The key areas of concern are, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
United States’ Agency for International Development’s (USAID) administrator Mark Green said food insecurity is,
“One of the most visible manifestations to human suffering emerging from war this suffering is preventable and thus all the more tragic,”
Yemen
The fallout of the 3-year long Yemen war has created one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises. Yemen, a nation of 28 million people, now has 8.4 million people on the verge of starvation and 22 million people are dependent on aid.
The World Food Programme’s Executive Director, David Beasley said last week,
“Yemen is a disaster and I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel right now,”
He spoke to a closed meeting at the UNGA saying that there “very well could be” famine in remote areas of Yemen. The World Food Programme has warned that ‘Yemen is on the brink of a full-blown famine, with 18 million of its 29 million population food insecure, 8.4 million severely so’.
On 25 September the UK government announced a ‘call to action’ including £170million in aid to meet the immediate food needs of 2.5 million Yemenis. The donation makes the UK the fourth largest donor overall to Yemen this year. Saudi Arabia and the UAE say they are both providing funds and aid supplies in Yemen, however the Houthis blame the coalition for blocking imports.
Syria
Syria’s 7-year long war has now caused widespread food insecurity due to the destruction of agricultural infrastructure, local economies and supply chains, resulting in over six million people suffering food insecurity.
As the war started in 2011, Syria was at the tail end of a prolonged drought that lasted from 2006 – 2010. Rainfall decreased by at least a third in that time leading to the migration of agricultural families to the larger cities. Some reports say this was one of the drivers of the uprising in 2011.
Using Syria as a case study, David Beasley said that the cost of aid in a war zone is much higher than in an area of peace due to the issues with logistics and security. Therefore, he says,
“It is a better investment if we address the root cause as opposed to reacting after the fact.”
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlined by the UN in addresses the need to ensure the access to safe nutritious and sufficient food for all. One of its key aims is to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030. The Agenda 2030 driven by the UN is a plan of action for ‘people, planet and prosperity.’ Its manifesto continues to state,
‘We recognise that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.’
One of its targets is, “By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.”
Obesity is also a problem
The food insecurity report went on to show that women and children are most likely to be affected by food insecurity.
Food insecurity also includes overweight and obesity, which is also worsening and is seen as a form of malnutrition. High rates of this type of malnutrition exist in many countries due to the higher cost of nutritious foods and the stress of living with food insecurity.
One of the key messages from the 2018 report, that IOHR also support was,
“Access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food must be framed as a human right, with priority given to the most vulnerable.”