Hunger is spreading, caused by wars and conflicts, climate change and the pandemic.
Some 828 million people are chronically malnourished, the United Nations said in a report.
The Russia-Ukraine war has only worsened the situation, causing massive disruptions to the global wheat market, according to the World Resources Institute, the Geneva-based think tank.
From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, people are struggling with price increases of up to 60 percent for bread, cereals or fruit, warned Welthungerhilfe, one of the largest private aid organizations in Germany. “Those who are already among the poorest and have contributed least to the crises suffer the most,” it said.
In the Horn of Africa, 17 million people no longer have enough to eat, Welthungerhilfe said.
Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. It’s made worse in Ethiopia by the war in Tigray province.
Millions of goats and cattle have died, fields have dried, and wells no longer have water.
“The war against Ukraine acts as an accelerant to these crises and exacerbates hunger and poverty,” warns Marlehn Thieme, chair of the Board of Welthungerhilfe.
“We receive desperate cries for help from all project countries,” it said in a press statement released August 12; Welthungerhilfe has projects in 70 countries.
While more than 80 different countries produce wheat, Russia is the largest global wheat exporter, exporting volumes worth more than $7.3 billion in 2021.
Wheat is the third most-produced cereal globally — after rice and corn. It is the second most produced for human consumption, a dietary staple for millions of people around the world.
China is the world’s largest wheat producer and has yielded more than 2.4 billion tons of wheat in the last 20 years, around 17 percent of total production.
Most of the wheat is used to help meet the rising food demand in China, the world’s largest consumer of wheat. In 2020/2021, the country accounted for approximately 19 percent of global wheat consumption, according to data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The second-largest wheat-producing country is India. Over the last two decades, India has produced 12.5 percent of the world’s wheat. Like China, India keeps most of its wheat domestic because of significant food demand across the country, according to FAO.
Russia, the world’s third-largest wheat producer, is also the largest global exporter of the cereal. The country exported more than $7.3 billion worth of wheat in 2021, accounting for approximately 13.1 percent of total wheat exports that year. – Paul Icamina
