NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine threatens to trigger an unprecedented global wave of hunger and deprivation. He said that though it is the vulnerable people who are currently most affected, but no country will be spared from the effects of the crisis of livelihood.
Although he said the solution to the crisis ultimately lay in ending the war, Guterres called for two immediate actions. First, the export of Russian fertilizer, as well as the release of millions of tons of stored Ukrainian grain to world markets, is currently being stopped.
and secondly, efforts to ensure that resources are immediately available to help the poorest countries and communities cope with the crisis.
Guterres said during a news conference in New York on ways to mark the publication of the United Nations Global Crisis Response Group’s latest report, “Governments must be able to borrow the money they need to keep their economies and their people flourishing.” ” The war in Ukraine is affecting other countries.
“Today’s report makes clear that the impact of war on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe and sharp,” he said.
“It is exacerbating the consequences of many other crises facing the world: climate, COVID-19, and severe global inequalities in the resources available to recover from the pandemic.”
Food prices have skyrocketed and reached record highs since the start of the conflict. In addition, the cost of fertilizers has more than doubled, raising alarm bells all over the world.
“Without fertiliser, corn and wheat would spread shortages to all major crops, including rice, which would have devastating effects on billions of people in Asia and South America,” Guterres warned.
“This year’s food crisis is about lack of access. Next year may be about food shortages.”
Meanwhile, he said, record high energy prices are causing blackouts and fuel shortages around the world, especially in Africa, as the growing effects of the “financial squeeze” are particularly badly felt in poor countries. Those already grappling with loan defaults and economic risk. The fallout as a result of COVID-19, the inequality in recovery from the pandemic and the climate crisis.
“Now, both countries and individuals have no hope of balancing their budgets,” Guterres said. “Instead, families everywhere are being forced to make impossible decisions: whether to close their businesses, sell their livestock, or take their children out of school.”
In the past two years, the number of people classified as severely food-insecure has doubled, and the World Food Program estimates the number of people affected will reach 47 million this year.
“Really, there is only one way to stop this gathering storm in its tracks: the Russian invasion of Ukraine must end,” Guterres said.
“Death and destruction must stop. A political solution must be found in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter.”
Meanwhile, Guterres said he asked Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Rebecca Grinspan and UN Humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths to coordinate on assembling a task force to provide safe and secure exports of food Is. and crops from Ukraine through the Black Sea, and to ensure that global markets have uninterrupted access to supplies of Russian fertilizers.
“The deal is necessary for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, including sub-Saharan Africa,” Guterres said.
“At this point, saying anything else publicly would jeopardize my chances of success and I ask for your understanding,” he said, as he declined to take any questions.
“This is one of those moments when silent diplomacy is necessary – and the welfare of millions of people around the world may depend on it.”