The UN has reported that the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran is driving record numbers of people into hunger at a time when funds to combat famine have fallen dramatically, according to the deputy head of its World Food Programme.
The World Food Programme estimates there are some 363 million people around the world at risk of acute hunger, with 45 million of them resulting directly from the conflict in the Middle East and the spike in oil prices. At the same time, money raised to address world hunger fell last year by a third, with the US – the largest donor – cutting its contribution by more than 50%.
This has opened up a huge gap between needs and funding, which has forced the UN organisation to cut programmes addressing food emergencies so as to focus on those already facing catastrophic famine.
“We take from the hungry to give to the starving. That’s the reality,” said Carl Skau, acting executive director of the World Food Programme, in an interview with the Guardian. “Much of this is driven by conflict. Last year, we had two famines declared. That hasn’t happened in decades, so these are historic levels of hunger.”
Read the full article in the Guardian here.