Yemenis wait to receive food rations from a charity group in the capital Sanaa. EPA
Yemenis wait to receive food rations from a charity group in the capital Sanaa. EPA
A Yemeni waits to receive rations in Sanaa. EPA
A Yemeni waits to receive rations in Sanaa. EPA
A Yemeni girl is given free food by a charity group in the city. EPA
A Yemeni girl is given free food by a charity group in the city. EPA
Volunteers provide rations to people in Sanaa. EPA
Volunteers provide rations to people in Sanaa. EPA
Volunteers prepare food to be given to those in need in Sanaa. EPA
Volunteers prepare food to be given to those in need in Sanaa. EPA
A Yemeni woman is among those who received rations from the charity group. EPA
A Yemeni woman is among those who received rations from the charity group. EPA
A Yemeni man leaves with his food aid. EPA
A Yemeni man leaves with his food aid. EPA

World

UK

Pandemic doubled number of people on brink of starvation, says World Food Programme

Head of UN agency says 270 million people are facing a hunger crisis

Jamie Prentis
Jamie Prentis

July 12, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the number of people suffering from severe food insecurity to double.

The warning was issued by David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme, who said 270 million people were “marching towards starvation".

The Covid-related economic deterioration and ensuing ripples on the supply chain have led to a “perfect storm crisis”, he said.

The pandemic compounded the problems caused by conflict and climate change.

When Mr Beasley took charge of the UN agency in March 2017 about million 80 million people around the world were on the brink of starvation.

But before the pandemic began in early 2020, that figure had surged to 135 million, worsening as Covid-19 spread around the world.

Read more

WFP economist warns of rising hunger as global supply chains creak under strain of Covid-19

“If we don’t do anything about it then you will have mass famine, destabilisation of nations and mass migration,” Mr Beasley told an online seminar organised by the Chatham House think tank in London.

He said he told world leaders in private that not enough was being done to solve the world’s conflicts.

“Man-made conflict is driving the hunger rates up," he said.

He emphasised the importance of tackling the root causes of hunger rather than waiting to act “after the fact", which was often much more expensive.

“I think the Europeans learnt that lesson very clearly in the Syrian conflict. We could feed a Syrian in the middle of a war for about 50 cents per person, and that’s more than normal, but when you’re moving supplies through a war zone it costs more money," Mr Beasley said.

“But that same Syrian ends up in, let’s say, Brussels or Berlin, instead of 50 cents it’s 50 to 100 Euros per person per day for the humanitarian support package.”

Mother Roman Kidanemariam, 35, holds her malnourished daughter, Merkab Ataklti, 22 months old, in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Mother Roman Kidanemariam, 35, holds her malnourished daughter, Merkab Ataklti, 22 months old, in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Gebre Kidan Gebrehiwet, 2, is treated for malnutrition after fleeing from the town of Abi Adi with his mother, Abeba Tesfay, at the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Gebre Kidan Gebrehiwet, 2, is treated for malnutrition after fleeing from the town of Abi Adi with his mother, Abeba Tesfay, at the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Birhan Etsana, 27, from Dengelat, uses a nasogastric tube to feed her malnourished baby, Mebrhit, who at 17 months old weighs just 5.2 kilograms (11 pounds and 7 ounces), at the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Birhan Etsana, 27, from Dengelat, uses a nasogastric tube to feed her malnourished baby, Mebrhit, who at 17 months old weighs just 5.2 kilograms (11 pounds and 7 ounces), at the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Abeba Gebru, 37, from the village of Getskimilesley, sits with her malnourished daughter, Tigsti Mahderekal, 20 days old, in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Abeba Gebru, 37, from the village of Getskimilesley, sits with her malnourished daughter, Tigsti Mahderekal, 20 days old, in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
An Ethiopian woman scoops up portions of yellow split peas to be allocated to waiting families after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
An Ethiopian woman scoops up portions of yellow split peas to be allocated to waiting families after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Displaced Tigrayan women sit in a metal shack to eat food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Displaced Tigrayan women sit in a metal shack to eat food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
A woman stands in line to receive food donations at the Tsehaye primary school, which was turned into a temporary shelter for people displaced by conflict, in the town of Shire, Tigray region. Reuters
A woman stands in line to receive food donations at the Tsehaye primary school, which was turned into a temporary shelter for people displaced by conflict, in the town of Shire, Tigray region. Reuters
Tigrayans stand in line to receive food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Tigrayans stand in line to receive food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
An Ethiopian woman leaves with a portion of yellow split peas after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
An Ethiopian woman leaves with a portion of yellow split peas after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Displaced Tigrayans queue to receive food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo
Displaced Tigrayans queue to receive food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

Mr Beasley said the WFP work with displaced people showed that groups affected by conflict “don’t want to leave home”.

“What we saw in Syria is just typical of people in these types of disruptive environments," he said.

"They will move two, three, four, five times in their homeland. They’ll go to their aunts, uncles or grandparents or cousins or friends before they’ll actually leave.

“But if they don’t have food security and some degree of peace, they will do what any of us would do for our children.”

No two countries were the same when it came to the root causes of hunger, Mr Beasley said.

He said that in the Sahel region, the WFP had worked to find long-term sustainable solutions to water shortages.

Child marriages, migration and the recruitment of residents by terrorists groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda dropped in the areas where the agency's programmes were introduced, he said.

With government funds stretched by the pandemic, he also appealed to the world’s richest people for their financial help, especially after the net worth of so many increased during pandemic.

“I’m saying, 'Hey, give me one day’s worth of your net worth increase. That’s all I need, I’m not going to ask you every year for this,'” he said.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Dates for the diary

To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

  • September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
  • October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
  • October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
  • November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
  • December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
  • February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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