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."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lok Sabha confirms imposition of President's rule in Manipur
_vb_75.jpeg)
New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha early Thursday adopted a Statutory Resolution confirming the imposition of President's rule in Manipur with opposition supporting the decision but slamming the Centre for the situation in the state.
Replying to a short debate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the government has taken all possible steps to bring back normalcy in the restive northeastern state.
He said there has been no violence in Manipur in the last four months, adding that talks were on with both Meitei and Kuki communities for a peaceful solution.
"By and large the situation is peaceful. As long as people are in camps, I would not say the situation is satisfactory. The government is taking all possible steps to restore peace in Manipur," he said.
The home minister said the ethnic violence in Manipur had started following an order of the state's high court.
"The day the order came, we sent the central forces by air. There was no delay on our part (in taking action)," he said.
He said, so far, 260 people have died in the violence that started in May 2023 and 80 per cent of them lost their lives within the first month.
Shah said he did not want to compare the violence that had taken place during the tenure of the previous governments but wanted to tell the House about the clashes between the Naga and Kuki communities that took place in the 1990s over five years.
"Sporadic violence continued for a decade where 750 people lost their lives. There were Kuki-Paite clashes in 1997-98 when 352 people were killed. In the Meitei-Pangal clashes in the 1990s, over 100 people died. Neither the then prime minister nor the then home minister visited Manipur," he said.
The home minister said an impression has been given that violence erupted only during the BJP rule, which is not correct.
Earlier, participating in the debate, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said his party supported the resolution but wanted the restoration of peace and stability in the state.
"End insurgency, restore peace and stability, promote dialogue with each other, promote inclusivity," he said.
Sayani Ghosh of the Trinamool Congress said her party too supports the resolution but favours early restoration of peace.
DMK's K Kanimozhi said "divisive" politics should come to an end in Manipur.
"We want normalcy to return, peace and harmony should be restored. We also want the formation of an elected government," she said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant expressed concern over the prevailing situation in Manipur and said peace must be restored.
NCP (SCP) member Supriya Sule said the President's Rule is not good for democracy and sought "strong intervention" of the home minister in bringing back normalcy.
The resolution 'Consideration on the Proclamation issued by the President on the 13th February 2025 under article 356 (1) of the Constitution in relation to the State of Manipur’ was adopted by the House by a voice vote.
The violence started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised against the high court order.
There have been many efforts from the central government to bring the warring communities to the negotiating table.
