The United Nations World Food Programme welcomed an announcement by G7 leaders meeting on Tuesday that they will give a further US$ 4.5 billion to shield the world’s most vulnerable people from hunger and malnutrition.
"The world is facing a global hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions. In just two years, the number of severely food insecure people has increased by more than 200 million from 135 million pre-pandemic to 345 million today," Rome-based WFP said in a statement.
"Of these, up to 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine," the statement went on.
"Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan and Afghanistan are of particular concern," the statement continued.
WFP is ready to help tackle the current crisis, working with initiatives like the Global Alliance for Food Security and the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission, while bringing to the table more than 60 years of experience in combatting hunger worldwide, the statement said.
The crisis has been triggered by a combination of climate shocks, the economic impact of COVID, rising food and fuel costs and conflict, and has been stoked by the war in Ukraine, the statement underlined.
WPF praised the G7's commitment to keep food, fuel, and fertiliser trade open, noting that these items are critical for countries bearing the brunt of the crisis.
The G7's commitment to building resilience and supporting domestic production in fragile countries is to be welcomed, said the statement, noting that the world now stands "at a critical crossroads".
"Today’s pledge by the G7 (in Elmau, Germany), which takes its joint commitment this year to global food security to over US$ 14 billion , is an important step towards meeting this challenge," said the statement.
