Three billion people cannot afford food and one million are suffering famine, UN says

A staggering three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet and many are facing malnutrition and starvation, partly because the war in Ukraine has triggered surges in food, fertilizer, and energy prices.

The world’s most vulnerable people are also being battered by a perfect storm of the coronavirus pandemic, climate crisis, environmental degradation, violent conflict, and deepening inequalities.

This is how UN chief Antonio Guterres summarized the situation facing people in poorer countries ahead of World Food Day on October 16. “The number of people affected by hunger has more than doubled in the past three years”, he said. “Almost a million people are living in famine conditions, with starvation and death a daily reality”. Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are heavily affected.

“Together, we must move from despair to hope and action. On World Food Day and every day, I call on you to be part of the change”, he urged. Farmers need access to reasonably priced fertilizers to ensure enough food next year while governments, scientists, and civil society need to work together to make affordable nutritious diets available.

People in Haiti are among the worst hit currently. Vulnerable Haitians are trapped in a cycle of growing desperation, without access to food, fuel, markets, jobs and public services. Hunger has reached a catastrophic level – the highest level 5, on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification index (IPC) – in the capital’s Cité Soleil neighborhood.

Increased violence with armed groups trying to control the now lawless area of Port-au-Prince has meant that people lost access to their work, markets and health and nutrition services. For years, natural hazards and political turmoil have taken a toll on Haitians who were already in need in both rural and urban areas. The global food crisis marked by rising food and fuel prices has worsened people’s distress and helped to plunge Haiti into chaos, completely paralyzing economic activities and transport.

The Ukraine war has resulted in a drop of about 18 million metric tons of grain being exported from Ukraine and Russia. The estimated drop in Ukraine’s crop product is at least 35% in the next harvesting season because of war, land mines and farmers’ reduced ability to finance the new harvest because the old one has not yet been sold. Yields would also decrease due to reduced access to fertilizers and plant protection, and higher diesel costs.

The forecast for the 2022–23 harvest in Ukraine is below normal levels by more than 30 million tons, due to lower acreage planted and lower availability of seeds, fertilizer and other inputs. Even before the Russian invasion, price levels for wheat and corn were 40 to 50 percent higher than the average price over the past decade. Now, they may climb more.

In many nations, local currencies have devalued sharply against the dollar in 2022, raising the costs of importing commodities like wheat and oil. Poorer countries are already experiencing higher-than-usual budget deficits and levels of unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As food supplies fall, they will face higher inflation, which will worsen budgetary stress as governments try to protect their people from rising food prices. If they cannot do so, malnutrition levels will rise further.