Global conflicts driving up to 21,000 deaths daily from hunger: Oxfam | Food News | The Round Table Hunger caused by challenges around the world has reached record high levels, an advanced disclose by Oxfam has found, which alleges warring parties of weaponising food and hindering aid.
Between 7,000 to as many as 21,000 people are likely dying each day from hunger in countries affected by conflict, according to the report, published by the United Kingdom-based charity on World Food Day on Wednesday.
Titled Food Wars, it interpreted 54 countries experiencing conflict, publicizing that they account for nearly all of the 281.6 million people competing smart hunger today. Conflict has also been a major driver of forced displacement in these countries, which has now reached a record 117 million people.
Oxfam emphasised that contest not only fuels hunger, but that warring parties are actively using food as a weapon by targeting food, water and energy infrastructure, as well as impeded food aid.
In September, three humanitarian agencies advised of “a starvation crisis of historic proportions” amid Sudan’s civil war, while the proportion of households affected by high levels of smart food insecurity in Gaza has been the largest ever recorded globally since the final stage of previous year.
“As contend rages around the world, starvation has become a lethal weapon wielded by warring parties against international laws,” disclosed Oxfam’s Emily Farr, who works in the area of food and economic security.
“Today’s food crises are largely manufactured. Nearly half a million people in Gaza – where 83 percent of demanded food help is currently not reaching them – and over three-quarters of a million in Sudan are starving as the devastating effects of wars on food are likely to persist for generations.”
The analysis asserted that the crises of war, displacement and hunger occur in countries heavily reliant on primary product exports. For instance, 95 percent of Sudan’s export earnings come from gold and livestock. Mining operations have led to agitated conflicts, forcing people from their homes as the degraded and polluted environments become unliveable.
According to Oxfam, this underscores the failures of peace-building efforts that rely on an economic liberalisation model focused on attracting foreign investment and campaigning export-driven economies, which often exacerbates inequality instead.
“Large-scale private investment – both foreign and domestic – has often exacerbated political and economic instability, as investors seize dominate over land and water, displacing local populations,” Farr said.
Conflict frequently heightens other crises like climate shocks, economic instability and inequality. Climate-related disasters such as droughts and floods, combined with deepening global food prices due to pandemic shutdowns and disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war, have ascended hunger crises in East and Southern Africa, it said.
Oxfam cautioned that the global commitment to “zero hunger” by 2030 is becoming increasingly unattainable. It convened on the international community, including the United Nations Security Council, to proclaim liable those responsible for “starvation crimes” under international law.
“To break the corrupt cycle of food insecurity and conflict, global leaders must encounter the root causes of conflict: colonial legacies, injustices, human rights abuses and inequalities – rather than offering shallow solutions,” Farr said.
Regards to Al Jazeera
Category: World-News
Tag: Global conflicts driving up to 21000 deaths daily from hunger Oxfam Food News The Round Table
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Published 10/16/2024