Never before has the Middle East been in such a serious food crisis as it is today, when the prolonged conflict in the Gaza Strip pushed all 2.3 million people in this Palestinian territory into hunger, with more than half a million people seriously starving.
The entire population of this Mediterranean strip of land needs food assistance, while aid sources are increasingly depleted.
High inflation in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt and Iran, as well as the consequences of conflicts in Syria and Yemen and continuing wars in Gaza and Sudan, have undermined food price stability globally. Food prices, which have risen since the conflict in Ukraine, are under additional pressure from security instability in the Red Sea and Gaza, which has disrupted supply chains.
WFP’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Corinne Fleischer, assessed that the holy month of Ramadan has become a burden for millions of people in the Middle East as they must face high food prices and unstable income. She said conflict and food shortages are making the practice of fasting during Ramadan a harsh daily reality for millions of people.
According to WFP, about 11 million people in the Middle East do not have enough food daily. For months, Gaza has received less than half of the food supplies it needs.
Senior researcher in peace and conflict at Uppsala University (Sweden), Paola Vesco, commented that armed conflicts and droughts are the biggest causes of food insecurity, and these shocks create complicated impacts. Armed conflicts affect access to medical infrastructure, reduce access to water sources, and force people to leave their homes. WFP stated that relief activities to help 30 million people in the Middle East have decreased due to a lack of funding. Limited humanitarian aid makes life more difficult for millions of people.
The world faces a great challenge when about 258 million people in 58 countries encounter serious food insecurity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), about 58.1 million people are seriously lacking food in the Greater Horn of Africa, including 30.5 million people in six East African countries, including Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda and the remainder are in Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. After heavy rains and floods caused by El Nino during the rainy season from October to December 2023, especially in the Horn of Africa, food is even scarcer. The Greater Horn of Africa is also confronted by many epidemics.
The El Nino phenomenon and widespread drought pose an increasing risk to food security in southern Africa. Grain output in this region is forecast to drop this year, causing increases in import demand.
In South Africa, the region’s largest grain producer, low rainfall and high temperatures in the first two months of this year threaten to sharply reduce corn output. Zambia had to declare a state of national disaster due to drought affecting agriculture. According to FAO, food is also difficult to buy because the income of people in rural areas has fallen, and prices have soared.
Instability, conflict and climate change are believed to be the main causes of increased hunger. The food crisis becomes a threat to international peace and security.
In that context, countries are facing pressure to act urgently, resolve conflicts and preserve peace, in addition to increasing investment to ensure healthy, equitable and sustainable food systems to prevent disasters caused by famine.
