UN program director warns of mass starvation if food crisis persists

David Beasley, the executive director of the UN World Food Program, has said that if the food crisis is ignored, the world faces mass starvation, political destabilization and uncontrolled migration.

He believes that in 2023 the situation can only worsen. Beasley discussed this topic at the site of the Council on Foreign Affairs. A UN spokesman said countries are “faced with an unprecedented crisis already now.” According to him, the situation is aggravated, among other things, due to the ban on the supply of fertilizers from Russia and Belarus, Kommersant reports.

“If we do not cope [with the crisis] strategically and effectively, then mass famine, destabilization of dozens of countries and mass migration await us,” Beasley said.

The diplomat fears that next year could be “much worse” than this one. The UN representative did not rule out that the world community will face difficulties due to the rise in food prices in the next six months or a year. If the problem is not solved, the world may face food shortages, Beasley added.

In 2021, the number of people suffering from hunger or lacking access to nutritious food reached an all-time high – from 702 million to 828 million people, according to the UN. UN Secretary-General António Guterres believes that world hunger can be avoided by urgently returning food from Russia and Ukraine to world markets. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund said that the armed conflict in Ukraine, among other things, seriously disrupted the work of the food, fuel and fertilizer markets. Western countries accuse Russia of blocking several tons of Ukrainian grain. The United Nations and Turkey were involved in resolving the issue.