Shah Fahad
WHILE the world is fighting with pandemic and recession, businesses across the globe are facing tension. With the extension of the lockdown, the bottom layer of the society is badly suffering due to lack of work since most of them were on daily wages. With the absence of work, they are unable to make a living for themselves. The threat of famine is one of the most pressing issues among others during these crises. Many have lost their job since the beginning of the lockdown and it’s very difficult to get impeccable data about those who are suffering from hunger. The World Food Program issues a yearly report which covers the data from all over the world about the people who are suffering from hunger and categorize them as either under stress or facing a serious food crisis. This year’s report does not cover the statistics after the Corona outbreak but looking at the number of people fighting starvation globally before the outbreak is eye-opening.
According to the report, in 2018, around 113 million were facing a food crisis and in the year 2019, about 135 million are facing similar conditions which means 22 million more people were added in one year. The report states that Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan are the three most food-insecure countries in the world. Pakistan ranks third in the countries which are acutely affected by food insecurity due to bad weather conditions. Droughts in Sindh and Balochistan affected 4.5 million people. Children, especially under the age of 5, suffer the most from food insecurities. According to the report, 66 million children under 5 years of age suffer from wasting and 149 million are stunted globally. The situation in Pakistan was specifically mentioned as very concerning due to the increasing number of malnourished children. Despite being an agricultural country, people are still facing food insecurities that need the urgent attention of the government. Every year the crops in our rural areas suffer from various issues, the agricultural sector has been completely ignored and lacks research and development. The crops do not only suffer from the bad weather as the report states but the output is also hampered because of the bad quality seeds.
With the spread of COVID-19, the United Nations believes that globally, 130 million people will be facing food shortage while 135 million people were already starving before the outbreak. The situation is even worse in war-stricken countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc. These countries not only face a serious threat from the virus outbreak but also food insecurity. Naturally, due to years of war, these countries do not have a proper health system to tackle the virus outbreak nor does preventive measures such as “social distancing” are possible. Humanitarian relief efforts in such countries are also very difficult. Last year the UN Food Programme raised $8.3 billion and this year they required $12 billion to ensure the food supply. With the global economy crashing down it will be even harder to raise more money and feed the hungry souls in such areas. It is surprising to notice that amidst the ravages of the pandemic, the saner voices in state capitals are not ready to triumph. There are discussions about the escalation of tension and wars rather than focusing all the efforts on handling the devastating outbreak. War-torn Syria has 7.9 million people battling acute hunger and 11.1 million people require humanitarian assistance. Around 70% of Syrians mention unemployment as their main problem. With a depreciating currency, unstable security conditions, post-harvest losses, increased fuel prices and pandemic the situation in Syria will be a disaster. Countries that were busy fuelling the conflict are still not willing to step back and ensure the safety and well-being of the people of Syria in such hostile conditions.
The tension between Iran and the US also remain unabated. At the time of writing this article 26 April there were more than 89,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iran with over 5,600 deaths. Whereas the US has over 944,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases with over 53,000 deaths. Adding more to the fire, Iran launched its first military satellite in the orbit and American officials hurled threats at Tehran besides passing irrational orders to American navy officials posted in the Middle East to shoot at sight the Iranian boats. Over 39 million Iraqi’s pay the price for the belligerent attitude of White House and Tehran. Around 1.8 million people in Iraq are facing food insecurity and are in urgent need of assistance. Once again we notice that instead of fighting the virus outbreak or providing food, leaders of the two countries are escalating tension. Recently, Trump Administration discontinued their financial assistance to the World Health Organization but it’s very interesting to note that the Administration is willing to burn millions on military all over the globe in the name of national security. The level of inequality is so high that Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos & Bill Gates combined own $300 billion, yet in the power capital of the world 38.1 million people live in poverty. An important question which needs to be asked is that when so much agricultural development has been done and so many celebrity funded NGO’s are working then why are we unable to feed the people living on the bottom layer of stratification. While essential programs such as the UN Food Program lacks funding to feed the poor, corporations such as Basket Ball League in the US (NBA) makes $8.76 billion in profit. The food insecurity is threatening the life of millions around the globe and many more will continue to fight starvation even after the lockdown. All the countries must come close to devise a long-term plan to ensure the equal distribution of resources if we want to address this lurking global famine rather threatening each other with wars and killings.
—The writer is freelance columnist based in Karachi.
