UN Report: Time too short to stop global food crisis, Ukraine war deepens starvation crisis for 1.6 billion people

The United Nations has released its report on the effects of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, saying that the time is too short to stop the global food crisis. The Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG) has revealed that the conflict has left an estimated 1.6 billion people in 94 countries facing at least one financial, food, or energy crisis. Of these, about 1.2 billion people are living in the most affected countries, which are facing all three crises.

food availability will be less

The report, published on June 8, advised that work must be done to stabilize food and fuel prices that have hit record highs, take social security measures and increase financial aid for developing countries. The UN report warns that the time is short to stop the food crisis in 2023, in which we may face problems with both access to food and the availability of food. It said that if the war continues and high prices of food grains and fertilizers persist in the next season as well, the availability of food will be reduced at the worst possible time. Not only this, the current crisis related to corn, wheat, and vegetable oil will increase, affecting billions more people.

Increase in the number of people with food insecurity

Significantly, after the Corona crisis, the number of people facing food insecurity worldwide has increased rapidly to 276 million, which was 135 million earlier. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the effects of the Ukraine war are creating a life-threatening crisis from which no country or community can escape. Countries around the world now have to work together to save lives and livelihoods.

Wheat prices skyrocketed

The impact of the Russo-Ukraine war can be gauged from the fact that Ukraine is one of the largest wheat-producing countries in the world. Wheat prices around the world have risen at a record rapid rate since the war began. Guterres said the Ukraine crisis could lead to a worldwide crisis. He said that three months have passed since the war between Ukraine and Russia and now new problems are arising. It has been said in the report that the hunger crisis is increasing all over the world and if no measures are taken, then it can increase further.

India is in the top 10 countries in terms of FDI

The United Nations has said that India is among the top 10 countries in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI). Although there was a decline of $19 billion in 2021 from $64 billion in 2020, it remains the favorite with $45 billion. India comes at number seven after the US, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, and Brazil. It is followed by South Africa, Russia, and Mexico. The World Investment Report said that last year saw an improvement in FDI from pre-Corona levels, and it reached $ 1.6 trillion. The current year is expected to be impacted by the Ukraine-Russia war, rising commodity prices, and investor uncertainty.

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