As global food prices are skyrocketing, the effects are most dramatic for the poorest. Chronic food instability and high vulnerability to malnutrition are already a daily reality for millions of families worldwide. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Haiti, Afghanistan and many others are on the brink of a major food crisis. Concrete and immediate steps need to be taken to prevent severe social consequences on a large scale. Action Against Hunger is launching a food crisis emergency appeal to be able to provide immediate and urgent assistance to the increasing number of people at risk of malnutrition and prevent a potential surge in the number of severely malnourished children worldwide.
On the verge of a critical situation
Providing assistance to over 5 million people in over 40 countries every year, Action Against Hunger is witnessing the dramatic effects of rising food prices on families' access to food and its direct consequences on the health of young children.
In many countries where Action Against Hunger is working, vulnerable people live on less than a $1 per day and devote almost their entire budget to food. These families are already struggling to afford sufficient and good quality food. This means that the slightest increase in its price can rapidly lead to increasing levels of malnutrition. "Food prices are rising at levels the poorest households are unable to afford putting families at risk of starvation," comments Jean Michel Grand, Action Against Hunger's Executive Director. "In addition, we fear that vital assistance to numerous populations will be called into question because there won't be enough stocks available to respond to an increasing demand. This is because more and more land is being diverted to cash crop rather than to staple food and less food is reaching the international markets as a consequence of drought, and dry years in countries like Australia. Unable to access food in order to survive, families already living on the edge will be even more vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition." ore vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition." ore vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition." ore vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition."
The short-term priority must be to respond to immediate needs and prevent soaring malnutrition rates
Action Against Hunger has observed increasing food prices in many of the countries where it is present. In Burkina Faso for example, Action Against Hunger teams have observed a 25% increase in the prices of millet, milk and oil in the past year; in Bangladesh prices of staple foods have nearly doubled over the same period and in Afghanistan, wheat prices have increased between 70% and 100% in those areas where Action Against Hunger is present. 55 million children under five years old are suffering already from acute forms of malnutrition and in view of the current situation their number is very likely to increase further.
Action Against Hunger is launching a food crisis emergency appeal to respond to the immediate needs of an increasing number of people at risk of malnutrition. "In the short-term, we need to prevent an immediate acute crisis," says Jean-Michel Grand. "Our main priority is to prevent even more children plunging into malnutrition".
Call for making hunger a priority on political agendas and appeal for financial resources
This food crisis is a sharp and cruel reminder to western governments and international financial and trade institutions, that food is the main concern of billions of people living in the world's poorest countries, and that these institutions have badly failed to address the first of the Millennium Development Goals which promised to reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
Nearly 70% of Africa's total population and approximately 90% of its poor work in agriculture, many of whom are small scale farmers. A price increase should represent an opportunity for small scale farmers, who could fill the gap in food supplies if rural agricultural development had supported them. As it stands, it is very unlikely that many of them will benefit from higher prices at all because they are in a poor position to participate and compete in the global market. Small scale farmers in developing countries have deliberately been sacrificed by policies protecting a handful of selected large farmers. Hunger must not be left to market forces alone and the regular supply of food should be a top priority on political agendas.
As the world is working to find solutions, Action Against Hunger appeals to donating countries to pledge more financial resources to address the worldwide hunger crisis. The immediate priority must be to prevent malnutrition rates from soaring and to provide urgent assistance to those most affected by the crisis.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For more information, please contact:
Christine Kahmann: c.kahmann@aahuk.org / 020 8293 6197
Sophie Noonan: s.noonan@aahuk.org / 020 8293 6190
Action Against Hunger (ACF) is an international humanitarian network, working in 43 of the world's poorest countries. Its vocation is to save lives, especially those of malnourished children, and to work with vulnerable populations to preserve and restore their livelihoods with dignity.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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