Only five percent of the food security aid needed in 2021 was funded by the donor community in the first quarter, according to more than 200 organizations in an open letter. More than 34 million people are on the verge of starvation.
According to the United Nations, 270 million people were at risk of starvation or acute hunger at the end of 2020, according to Oxfam in a press release. Many are in danger of dying from lack of food or the weakening of their immune system. The number of those in need will increase in the coming months if something is not done immediately. The global average food prices are now at their highest level in seven years, according to the announcement.
As recently as February, the World Food Program and the United Nations called for an additional $ 5.5 billion to be made available to care for the neediest. The sum corresponds roughly to the global military expenditure of one day.
In the first quarter of 2021, donors provided just 6.1 percent of the total of $ 36 billion called for in UN humanitarian appeals for that year, according to Oxfam. In the area of food security, donors have provided only 5.3 percent of the total requested $ 7.8 billion, according to the announcement.
Armed conflicts are the main cause of global hunger, which is exacerbated by climate change and the corona pandemic. The UN Secretary General’s call for a global ceasefire at the beginning of the pandemic must be implemented. In order to save lives, those responsible around the world would have to support permanent and sustainable conflict solutions and provide humanitarian organizations with access to people in crisis areas.
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