Multi-sectoral approaches needed to break cycle of conflict-driven hunger

FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, briefed UN Security Council members today at an informal meeting on conflict as a driver of global hunger and malnutrition.

Speaking to UN Security Council (UNSC) members at an Arria-Formula meeting on conflict-induced hunger, FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, briefed on the current global food security outlook, with conflict driving food insecurity and malnutrition.

Today’s briefing was convened by the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations, in their capacity as the informal focal point on conflict-induced hunger and in response to the dramatic rise in global food insecurity exacerbated as a consequence of conflict, including the war in Ukraine.

With 2022 forecasted to be the most food insecure year on record, the FAO Chief Economist outlined how conflict worldwide continues affecting the largest share of people facing acute food insecurity. In the context of the war in Ukraine and FAO’s response, FAO has been bringing attention to the core areas of risk associated with the continuation of hostilities and their impact on livelihoods and global markets. 

Council Members and other participants recognized FAO data and analyses, including the Food Price Index and key global food insecurity data, as vital information sources for these very discussions on conflict and hunger.

“Conflicts are a leading cause of hunger and undernutrition, and they affect food security in many ways,” Torero said, adding: “They destroy crops, livestock, and agricultural assets, disrupt food production, supply chains, and markets, and prevent and discourage farming and cause displacements of people and loss of incomes”.

Conflict: core driver of acute food insecurity last year

Estimates show that over 800 million people may be facing chronic hunger, with conflict – together with climate variability and extremes and economic slowdowns and downturns – driving this trend. Yet last year alone, there were also 193 million people across 24 countries and territories facing acute levels of food insecurity – those in Crisis levels or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above). 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Nigeria made up the bulk of the 80 percent increase (from 108 to 193 million) since 2016. These six countries accounted for around two-thirds of the total increase, all of which have been significantly affected by conflict and insecurity during at least one of the past six years. 

Torero further outlined that from 2016 to 2021, the population in Emergency (IPC/CH phase 4) across food crisis countries increased by 170 percent, from 14.5 million to 39.2 million people. 

Most concerning, however, is the 571 percent increase of people in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) in the same period, from around 93 000 in 2016 to 570 000 in 2021, across Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan, and Yemen.

More recently, between 2018 and 2021, the number of people facing Crisis levels or worse of food insecurity increased by a staggering 88 percent. 

“Over this period, conflict and insecurity have become the primary drivers for three additional food crisis countries: Ethiopia in 2021, Burkina Faso in 2019, and Mozambique in 2021,” Torero explained, mentioning how conflict and insecurity are increasing in scope and complexity.

Closely interwoven risks associated with the war in Ukraine

Torero also outlined how the war in Ukraine stands to have the most devastating impacts on food crisis countries and on those on the brink of famine.

Production and trade disruptions and rising global food and energy prices are very grave implications of the war in Ukraine on commodity markets – which have reached their highest levels ever – and consequently, on food crisis countries facing higher import bills for basic foodstuffs and inputs.

The importance of Ukraine and the Russian Federation to global food and agricultural input markets cannot be overlooked, as many vulnerable countries depend on the Russian Federation for fertilizers, the reduced availability and high prices of which can have serious impacts on yields and crop production. Similarly, several countries battling major food crises obtained almost the entirety of their wheat imports in 2021 from both the Russian Federation and Ukraine, such as Somalia (over 90 percent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (over 80 percent), and Madagascar (over 70 percent).

The current combined impacts of conflict, food, fuel and fertilizer price rises, displacement, and the loss of livelihoods, Torero explained, can exacerbate acute food insecurity in countries such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan. 

Need for policy coherence, multisectoral development and humanitarian response

Breaking the cycle of conflict-induced hunger, the Chief Economist explained, calls for coherent policy responses that address the causes of both chronic and acute food insecurity to reduce the risk of future conflict. “Conflict is a common denominator in situations of severe food crisis and risk of famine,” he said.

Multisectoral approaches and interventions, where multisectoral humanitarian, development, and peace initiatives respond to immediate needs, are key while also investing in resilience building to pave the road towards lasting peace and food security and nutrition for all.

Also briefing Council members were the World Food Programme Director of Emergencies, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, and the Regional Director for the Horn of Africa of Concern Worldwide.

UNSC on conflict-induced hunger

In 2018, the UNSC adopted UNSC Resolution 2417 condemning starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and recognizing the impact of armed conflict on food insecurity. The Resolution recognizes the need to break the vicious cycle between armed conflict and food insecurity and reiterates the UNSC commitment to address conflict-induced food insecurity, including famine, in situations of armed conflict.

An "Arria-Formula" meeting is an informal meeting of UNSC members, called by a member of the Council, to discuss issues of high importance and relevance to the work of the Council and convened to exchange practical and applicable information from leading authorities and relevant stakeholders. 

Related links

• Watch the recording and access the Chief Economist’s presentation to Council members.
• Find out more about FAO in the 2022 humanitarian appeals.
• Stay informed on latest analysis and materials on FAO’s response in Ukraine.
• Save the date for the launch of the Global Report on Food Crisis 2022 on 4 May.