UN official: The most severe food crises in the world are the result of armed conflicts and violence

The Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, confirmed that the most serious food crises in the world, including famines in parts of the Gaza Strip and Sudan, are primarily caused by armed conflicts and violence. 

This came during a UN session devoted to discussing the relationship between food insecurity and the escalation of conflicts, in which nearly 70 delegations participated, calling for To find political solutions to end wars and build comprehensive and resilient food systems.

Msuya said – In a statement issued by the United Nations – “Yemen’s damaged infrastructure is hampering the flow of imports, while continued fighting is leading to widespread population displacement, and humanitarian access restrictions are limiting the delivery of aid.” In Syria, the UN official explained, “Agricultural production has been severely affected by the destruction of infrastructure, the difficulty of accessing agricultural land due to explosive ordnance, and high rates of displacement.”

Msuya continued, saying, “A month after the ceasefire in Gaza, access is still restricted due to restrictions imposed on border crossings and bureaucratic obstacles by Israel that slow the entry of supplies and personnel. At the same time, the current conflict in Sudan has gone through many systems.” And more than 21 million people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, and many areas remain inaccessible to humanitarian assistance.”

She stressed that while the United Nations negotiates with parties to the conflict to facilitate humanitarian access and operates notification systems, “these tools can only be effective if the parties commit to facilitating access and relief operations.”

The UN official highlighted the increasing frequency of attacks on aid workers over the past two years, and urged the Council and member states to “use their influence to address hunger in conflict situations and maintain diplomatic engagement.”

Maximo Torero, chief economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), during the same session, briefed the Council, noting that the organization’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report has now become a global standard for analyzing food security and nutrition in emergency contexts, and with escalating conflict and shrinking humanitarian funding, “The IPC is not just a technical tool, it is a lifeline for millions of people living on the front lines of conflict and hunger,” he said, warning: “Where hunger is widespread, unrest is exacerbated; Where there is resilience, peace can prevail,” he said, urging world leaders to consider food security as a fruit of peace and not just a secondary matter. He emphasized: “Food security is not just a moral necessity, but rather the most practical path towards peace.” For his part, the African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, pointed to the fact that “Africa has become the epicenter of global hunger, with 20.4% of its population suffering from food insecurity, that is, double the global average.”&nbsp Mayaki cited the World Report on Food Crises, saying that 295 million people suffer from acute food insecurity in 53 countries, almost half of them due to conflicts.

He said: The serious food emergency in Sudan is prompting a mass exodus to Chad, South Sudan and the Horn of Africa, while 25.6 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffer from acute food insecurity.

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