Updated on 06/19/2022 at 14:54
- The UN has announced that it has to cut food rations for refugees in Africa.
- The reason for this is increased demand and lack of funds.
In several countries in East and West Africa, the United Nations had to cut food rations for refugees due to increased demand and lack of funds at the same time. For three-quarters of refugees in East Africa who are fed by the World Food Program (WFP), rations have been reduced by as much as 50%, the UN said on Sunday. Refugees in Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda are the most affected.
“We are being forced to make this heartbreaking decision to cut food rations for refugees who depend on us for their survival,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. The available resources could not keep up with the growing global demand for food, he justified the measure.
“Significant” reductions in West Africa
In West Africa – especially in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – WFP has reduced rations “significantly”. The problem is imminent in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, WFP warned.
On Tuesday, WFP requested US$426 million (406 million euros) to prevent famine in South Sudan, where millions of people have been forced to flee after years of conflict and flooding. The World Food Program said that more than two-thirds of the population is in need of humanitarian aid. 8.3 million people, including refugees, are at “acute” risk of hunger this year.
Risk of famine increased by war in Ukraine
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has significantly increased the global refugee crisis and the risk of famine, as not only have six million more civilians fled conflict zones, but commodity prices, especially grain, have soared.
Until the Russian invasion, Ukraine was considered one of the most important breadbaskets in the world, accounting for around twelve percent of global grain exports, 15 percent of corn and half of sunflower oil exports. The war threatens to “plunge tens of millions of people into food insecurity”, warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres last month. (dpa/tar)