The threat of famine, with people slowly starving to death, must be considered a red line for international peace and security, the UN Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, Reena Ghelani, said on Thursday, warning that warring groups deliberately use hunger as a tactic of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Globally, over 250 million people suffered acute hunger in 2022, the highest in recent years, with about 376,000 people facing famine-like conditions in seven countries \u2013 all affected by armed conflict or extreme levels of violence. Another 35 million people are on the edge, Ghelani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hunger and conflict \u201cfeed off of each other,\u201d she continued, briefing the Security Council open debate on famine and conflict-induced global food insecurity convened by the United States during its August presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArmed conflict destroys food systems, shatters livelihoods and drives people from their homes, leaving many extremely vulnerable and hungry. Sometimes these impacts are by-products of war, but all too often they are inflicted deliberately and unlawfully \u2013 with hunger utilised as a tactic of war,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghelani added that food insecurity itself also fuels instability, citing research that shows how food insecurity, when coupled with pre-existing grievances, poverty and inequality, causes people to choose violence over peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is the straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back, leading to conflict,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those helping people and providing assistance to stave off famine are also not spared by the fighting, Ghelani further noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds of humanitarians are killed, injured and kidnapped in conflict situations every year, and aid facilities and supplies are often attacked, looted or used for military purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe difficulties the United Nations, NGOs, and its partners are facing in Sudan is a stark example,\u201d Ghelani said, offering condolences to the families of the 11 humanitarian workers killed there in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Climate change and economic shocks further compound the crisis. \u201cClimate change is increasingly becoming a threat multiplier,\u201d Ghelani added, with stress over water and other natural resources leading to competition over dwindling natural resources, displacement, and, ultimately, conflicts and hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, insecurity in conflict-affected countries hinders climate adaptation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis leaves already vulnerable communities even poorer, hungrier and less resilient,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghelani emphasised that despite overwhelming challenges, progress is possible, and outlined key steps that must be taken to address the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These include ensuring parties to conflicts respect international humanitarian law, especially protecting food and water systems and facilitating unimpeded humanitarian access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also urged better use of early warning systems, with effective follow-up; adequate humanitarian funding; and being bold and creative in finding ways to mitigate the impact of war on the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The threat of famine, with people slowly starving to death, must be considered a red line for international peace and security, the UN Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, Reena Ghelani, said on Thursday, warning that warring groups deliberately use hunger as a tactic of war. Globally, over 250 million people suffered acute hunger in 2022, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":54947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54946"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54948,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54946\/revisions\/54948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uaebarq.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}