By CARE's Writing Team | CARE
An enduring global hunger crisis
For more than a year, the war between Russia and Ukraine has inflicted untold atrocities on the Ukrainian people. As the conflict continues, repercussions far beyond Europe are taking shape—escalating a global hunger crisis for 668 million people across 89 countries.[1]
When a crisis happens in one part of the world, it can send shock waves across the globe. For decades, Ukraine has been the breadbasket to the Global South. Before the war, Ukrainian and Russian grains provided more than one-third of the wheat imported by 45 African and least-developed countries.[2] When the conflict began, these exports plummeted immediately. Though some shipments have resumed under the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative, the agreement’s long-term future is uncertain and Ukraine’s exports under the deal remain low compared to historical averages.[3] In addition, the global rise in fuel and fertilizer costs is hampering the ability of small-scale farmers (roughly half of them women) to produce and store enough food in the coming seasons.[4] The war in Ukraine is tipping already fragile families into deeper states of hunger and malnutrition.
Harvest season is approaching.To prevent a worsening of the food and nutrition crisis, WFP and FAO urge countries to balance short-term urgent interventions with longer-term resilience efforts in their response.[5]
Global Food Crisis: At a Glance
Sources: https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/joint-statement-by-the-heads-of-fao-imf-world-bank-wfp-and-wto/en; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/ukraine-fertilizer-food-security/
Among the most vulnerable are women and children.Despite being responsible for the majority of food sourcing and preparation, women are eating last and least. Without proper nutrition, mothers can die during pregnancy or experience stillbirths. For the children who do survive, malnutrition can cause permanent, widespread damage to their growth and development, particularly during their first five years when their brains are developing most rapidly.
Not investing in healthy women puts future generations—both boys and girls—at risk of unhealthy lives and intergenerational malnutrition. These imbalances hurt entire communities because the cycle is perpetual—people living in poverty are more susceptible to malnutrition, which can lead to increased healthcare costs, reduced productivity and limited ability to earn income. To reverse this outcome, CARE invests in breaking the cycle of malnutrition, and that starts with women and girls.
With your investment and partnership,CARE can respond to the millions of families nearing the brink of famine and empower communities to survive the shocks that threaten their access to adequate nutritious food.
Read the attached full report to learn more about CARE's full-scall strategy for response to save lives now and sow resilience for tomorrow.
[1] This number is updated daily at: https://static.hungermapdata.org/insight-reports/latest/global-summary.pdf
[2] https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1116152?msclkid=a6509192cf9d11ec8a46224fc042ff3a
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/us/politics/russia-ukraine-food-crisis.html
[4] Despite some price declines, commodity prices can take 10 to 12 months to reach local markets according to the World Bank’s International Monetary Fund.
[5] https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/joint-statement-by-the-heads-of-fao-imf-world-bank-wfp-and-wto/en
By CARE's Global Hunger Team | CARE's Crisis Response Team
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