UN officials warn of looming global food crisis
Warnings have poured in over soaring food prices leading to increased poverty and unrest from several senior UN officials, who have called for urgent measures to tackle the global crisis which threatens to hit the world's poor the hardest.
By PTI |
NEW YORK: Warnings have poured in over soaring food prices leading to increased poverty and unrest from several senior UN officials, who have called for urgent measures to tackle the global crisis which threatens to hit the world's poor the hardest.
The World Food Programme's Deputy Executive Director has warned of the rise of a "new face of hunger" that will require the combined efforts of governments, the private sector, and humanitarian organisations to overcome.
"Food prices are now rising at rates that few of us can ever have seen before in our lifetimes," John Powell told the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference.
He expressed particular concern about the fact that markets are full of food but large numbers of people simply cannot afford to buy.
Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes also warned that rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability.
The past few weeks have witnessed violent protests over rising food prices in a number of countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco and most recently in Haiti, where several people have died in riots.
Holmes, who is also Emergency Relief Coordinator, discussed the issue in his meetings yesterday with officials in Kuwait, the latest stop on his four-nation visit intended to encourage greater partnership with Gulf States in international humanitarian efforts.
Meanwhile, the head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization called for urgent measures to reduce the impact of high food prices on the poor, which he said was due to a combination of factors such climate change, increased demand for biofuels production.
The World Food Programme's Deputy Executive Director has warned of the rise of a "new face of hunger" that will require the combined efforts of governments, the private sector, and humanitarian organisations to overcome.
"Food prices are now rising at rates that few of us can ever have seen before in our lifetimes," John Powell told the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference.
He expressed particular concern about the fact that markets are full of food but large numbers of people simply cannot afford to buy.
Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes also warned that rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability.
The past few weeks have witnessed violent protests over rising food prices in a number of countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco and most recently in Haiti, where several people have died in riots.
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Holmes, who is also Emergency Relief Coordinator, discussed the issue in his meetings yesterday with officials in Kuwait, the latest stop on his four-nation visit intended to encourage greater partnership with Gulf States in international humanitarian efforts.
Meanwhile, the head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization called for urgent measures to reduce the impact of high food prices on the poor, which he said was due to a combination of factors such climate change, increased demand for biofuels production.
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