According to new reports, there are over 113 million people who faced high levels of food insecurity in the world’s most severe food crises last year.
The Global Report on Food Crisis 2019 was released earlier today in Brussels, and it was made known that these crises were majorly driven by conflict and climate-related disasters.
It was revealed that nearly two-thirds of those facing brutal hunger were in just eight countries, which are Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
“These eight countries accounted for two thirds of the total number of people facing acute food insecurity – amounting to nearly 72 million people,” the report states.
Focusing on Nigeria, it was stated that in the 16 states of northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, the number of people in ‘Crisis’ and ‘Emergency’ decreased by 40 per cent between June and August 2017 and 2018 to 5.3 million.
“At the peak of the lean season three million were acutely food insecure in the three north-eastern states affected by the Boko Haram insurgency where protracted conflict and mass displacement disrupted agriculture, trade, markets and livelihoods, and pushed up food prices,”.
In the words of José da Silva, who is the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), although there is a little drop last year, the rate is still alarming.
Also making comments on the issue, Mr David Beasley, who is the World Food Programme Executive Director, states that while critical to saving lives and alleviating human suffering, humanitarian assistance does not address the root causes of food crises.
According to David, it is important to eradicate the major causes of hunger if we want to get somewhere. To him, he believes the root causes of hunger are conflict, instability, the impact of climate shocks.
Nigerians will hope President Muhammadu Buhari will utilize his second-term in office to eradicate hunger once and for allowing.
