The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that the “domino effect” of the conflict in Ukraine aggravates the problems of the pandemic, worsens food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean and leads to more resources being required to help vulnerable people in the region.
The United Nations body, awarded in 2020 with the Nobel Peace Prize, says in a statement that food insecurity affects 9.3 million people in the countries where it has a presence in the region, a figure that could increase to 13.3 million if the war in Ukraine persists.
WFP goes further and highlights that while Latin America and the Caribbean struggles to overcome the consequences of covid-19, the number of people in “severe food insecurity” increased by more than half a million between December 2021 and March 2022.”
In addition, with the conflict in Ukraine, the prices of raw materials and energy have risen and food inflation threatens countries in the region “very dependent on cereal imports”.
Since the Russian invasion launched on February 24, Ukraine’s agricultural production and exports mainly of wheat and corn have been affected, while farmers hope that it will be possible to reopen ports to sell stored grain.
For its part, WFP stresses that Caribbean islands that import a large part of their food will be affected when the cost of sea freight increases.
The World Food Programme also warns that rising food and oil prices are also driving up its operating costs in the region.
For WFP, which buys rice, black beans, lentils and vegetable oil in the region, the average costs per metric ton of these four commodities increased by 27% between January and April 2022, and by 111% between January 2019 and April 2022.
Cash transfers to vulnerable populations have also been affected, the U.N. agency said.
“In a year of unprecedented needs, our humanitarian dollar has been stretched to the limit,” said Lola Castro, WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Castro stressed that while the number of food-insecure people continues to increase, “the gap between our financial needs and available resources continues to widen,” which, he noted, WFP “urgently requires $315 million to cover its operating costs throughout the region over the next six months.”
“Millions of people could be pushed into poverty and food insecurity if the conflict in Ukraine continues. The region is already dealing with COVID-19, rising costs and climate extremes,” Castro said.
WFP warns that “amid growing food insecurity, the region is preparing for a third more active-than-normal Atlantic hurricane season starting in June, which has the potential to push more people into hunger.”
Source: EFE
