New York, May 18 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he has been in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union to work out a solution to the food crisis threatening the livelihood of millions of people in developing countries.
“Russia must permit the safe and secure export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports,” Guterres told a high-level ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council being presided over by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
”Alternative transportation routes can be explored – even if we know that by itself, this will not be enough to solve the problem. Russian food and fertilizers must have full and unrestricted access to world markets,” he said, adding that he has been also in touch with “several other key countries” to discuss the food crisis.
“I am hopeful, but there is still a way to go. The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides. I will not go into details because public statements could undermine the chances of success,” he said.
“But let’s be clear: there is no effective solution to the food crisis without reintegrating Ukraine’s food production, as well as the food and fertilizer produced by Russia and Belarus, into world markets — despite the war.”
Guterres said global hunger has reached new levels in just two years, from 135 million pre-pandemic to 276 million today and more than half a million people are living in famine conditions – an increase of more than 500 percent since 2016. In addition to conflict, he said the climate emergency is another driver of global hunger and over the past decade, 1.7 billion people have been affected by extreme weather and climate-related disasters.
The United States, which holds the 15-nation council’s presidency in May, said the two-day meeting will debate links between armed conflict and food security with a focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine as a major culprit for growing food prices and hunger affecting millions of people. The council will hear representatives from 30-35 countries, including those most affected by food insecurity and those that can take action and strengthen the food systems.
“The hard truth we have to reckon with is that people starve every day all around the world even though we have more than enough food to go around,” US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said before the council meeting. “Worse, many go hungry and don’t know where their next meal will come from because warmongers are intentionally using starvation as a weapon of war. Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen are just a few examples of places where conflict is driving people to desperate hunger.”
“These Days of Action are about bringing this crisis to the center of the world’s attention, and this is – this all takes on heightened significance given Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine.”
UN: Fragile economic recovery from COVID-19 pandemic upended by war in Ukraine
The UN issued a mid-year economic report, saying that the war in Ukraine has “upended the fragile economic recovery from the pandemic, triggering a devastating humanitarian crisis in Europe, increasing food and commodity prices and globally exacerbating inflationary pressures.”
The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) said as of mid-2022, “the global economy is now projected to grow by only 3.1 per cent in 2022, down from the 4.0 per cent growth forecast released in January 2022. Global inflation is projected to increase to 6.7 per cent in 2022, twice the average of 2.9 per cent during 2010–2020, with sharp rises in food and energy prices.”
“The downgrades in growth prospects are broad-based, including the world’s largest economies, — the United States, China and the European Union —, and the majority of other developed and developing economies. The growth prospects are weakening particularly in commodity-importing developing economies, driven by higher energy and food prices. The outlook is compounded by worsening food insecurity, especially in Africa.”
Read report: https://www.bit.ly/wespmidyear
Read more News on Conflict here
United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations correspondent journalists
United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles