UN: Record number of people without enough to eat in 2021
Rome(AP): The United Nations has said that the number of people without enough to eat on a daily basis reached an all-time high last year and is poised to hit "appalling" new levels as the Ukraine war affects global food production.
Almost 193 million people in 53 countries suffered acute food insecurity in 2021 due to what the UN on Wednesday said was a "toxic triple combination" of conflict, weather extremes and the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The UN said the total number of people without adequate food every day increased by 40 million last year, confirming a "worrisome trend" of annual increases over several years.
The figures appeared in the Global Report on Food Crisis, which is produced jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Food Programme and the European Union.
Countries experiencing protracted conflicts, including Afghanistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, had the most food-insecure populations, according to the report.
The report forecasts that Somalia will face one of the world's worst food crises in 2022 due to prolonged drought, increasing food prices and persistent violence. The various factors could lead 6 million Somalis into acute food crisis, the UN said.
"Today, if more is not done to support rural communities, the scale of the devastation in terms of hunger and lost livelihoods will be appalling," the UN said. "Urgent humanitarian action is needed on a massive scale to prevent that from happening."
The war in Ukraine poses further risks for Somalia and many other African countries that rely on Ukraine and Russia for wheat, fertilizer and other food supplies.
WFP's Chief Economist Arif Husain said the UN food agency projects that an additional 47 million people will become food insecure "in crisis or worse situation" because of the war in Ukraine as a result of higher food and fuel prices and inflation.
Even before the war, people were dealing with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced incomes, and food prices were at a 10-year high and fuel prices were at a seven-year high, he told reporters at UN headquarters in New York at a virtual press conference launching the report.
"This crisis is potentially more fuel on a fire which was already lit and burning up," Husain said.
The United Nations previously said the war was helping to send prices for commodities such as grains and vegetable oils to record highs, threatening millions with hunger and malnourishment.
"When we look at the consequences of what's happening as a result of the war in Ukraine, there is real cause for concern of how this will amplify the acute food needs that exist in these food crisis countries," said Rein Paulsen, director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation's office of emergencies and resilience.
He told the virtual UN briefing that the percentage of the population analysed in the report who are in acute food insecurity has gone up from just over 11 per cent in 2016 to just over 22 per cent in 2021.
At the same time, Paulsen said, funding to help them has dropped, which is a huge concern. In 2021 USD 8.1 billion was available for emergency work, a 25 per cent drop from 2017, he said.
The report called for greater investment in agriculture and appealed for USD 1.5 billion to help farmers in at-risk regions with the upcoming planting season to help stabilise and increase local food production.
WFP's Husain said his message to rich nations in the G7 and G20 is that food insecurity and hunger around the world are "exploding" and "if we don't address these issues we end up paying frankly thousand times more just a few years down the road." He said the world has seen this happen with the Syrian war and outpouring to Europe, with Afghanistan, and with Central Americans and Haitians trying to enter the U.S.
FAO's Paulsen said his message to donor nations is: "We need to put the same energy collectively that we put into addressing the COVID-19 pandemic into addressing acute hunger. ... It's about political will and focus."
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
