World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley gave a short message to a May 6 session of this week’s three-day online forum of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Beasley reiterated that famine is increasing, with 270 million people in acute need worldwide, and 34 million people now just steps away from starvation. He pointed out that there are “proximate causes” for food shortage, but also situations of “systemic breakdown.” He said that there was a “stable level of acute hunger until 2019"—which he was committed to eliminate, but then came COVID-19, and other factors. He called for nations to work together on “systems of support” to stop this. In particular, he denounced the use of hunger as a weapon for warfare, pointing to the 2018 UN Security Council Resolution 4217 passed unanimously against this.
On May 5 was the release of the annual report by the multi-agency group, Global Network Against Food Crises, titled “2021 Global Report on Food Crises” (GRFC.) The 300-page document gives detailed information globally, and country by country for a sub-group of 55 nations. The press release summarizes: “Roughly 155 million people were estimated to be acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance…in 55 countries and territories in 2020—an unprecedented level compared with the previous five editions of the GRFC.”
