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UN warns 345 million people face starvation worldwide

Published

4 years ago

2022/09/18

A ‘tsunami of hunger’ and ‘real and dangerous risk of multiple famines this year’, head of UN World Food Programme warns.

(Al Jazeera) The United Nations food chief has warned the world is facing “a global emergency of unprecedented magnitude” with up to 345 million people marching towards starvation – and 70 million pushed closer to starvation by the war in Ukraine.

David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Programme, told the UN Security Council on Thursday the 345 million people facing acute food insecurity in the 82 countries where the agency operates is more than twice the number of acutely food insecure people before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

He said it is incredibly troubling that 50 million of those people in 45 countries are suffering from very acute malnutrition and are “knocking on famine’s door”.

“What was a wave of hunger is now a tsunami of hunger,” he said, pointing to rising conflict, the pandemic’s economic ripple effects, climate change, rising fuel prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since Russia invaded its neighbour on February 24, Beasley said, soaring food, fuel and fertiliser costs have driven 70 million people closer to starvation.

Despite an agreement in July allowing Ukrainian grain to be shipped from three Black Sea ports blockaded by Russia and continuing efforts to get Russian fertiliser back to global markets,

“there is a real and dangerous risk of multiple famines this year”, he said.

“And in 2023, the current food price crisis could develop into a food availability crisis if we don’t act.”

The Security Council was focusing on conflict-induced food insecurity and the risk of famine in Ethiopia, northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen. But Beasley and UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths also warned about the food crisis in Somalia, which they both recently visited, and Griffiths also put Afghanistan high on the list.

“Famine will happen in Somalia. Be sure it won’t be the only place either,” Griffiths said.

He cited recent assessments that identified “hundreds of thousands of people facing catastrophic levels of hunger” – meaning they are at the worst famine level.

Beasley recalled his warning to the council in April 2020 “that we were then facing famine, starvation of biblical proportions”. He said then the world “stepped up with funding and tremendous response, and we averted catastrophe”.

“We are on the edge once again, even worse, and we must do all that we can – all hands on deck with every fibre of our bodies,” he said. “The hungry people of the world are counting on us and … we must not let them down.”

Griffiths said the widespread and increasing food insecurity is a result of the direct and indirect effect of conflict and violence that kills and injures civilians, forces families to flee the land they depend on for income and food, and leads to economic decline and rising prices for food they cannot afford.

After more than seven years of war In Yemen, he said, “some 19 million people – six out of 10 – are acutely food insecure, an estimated 160,000 people are facing catastrophe, and 538,000 children are severely malnourished”.

Beasley said the Ukraine war is stoking inflation in Yemen, which is 90 percent reliant on food imports. The World Food Programme hopes to provide aid to about 18 million people, but its costs have risen 30 percent this year to $2.6bn.

As a result, it has been forced to cut back so Yemenis this month are getting only two-thirds of their previous rations, he said.

Beasley said South Sudan faces “its highest rate of acute hunger since its independence in 2011” from Sudan. He said 7.7 million people, more than 60 percent of the population, are “facing critical or worse levels of food insecurity”.

Without a political solution to escalating violence and substantial spending on aid, “many people in South Sudan will die”, he warned.

In northern Ethiopia’s Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions, more than 13 million people need life-saving food, Griffiths said. He pointed to a survey in Tigray in June that found 89 percent of people food insecure, “more than half of them severely so”.

Beasley said a truce in March enabled WFP and its partners to reach almost five million people in the Tigray area, but resumed fighting in recent weeks “threatens to push many hungry, exhausted families over the edge”.

In northeast Nigeria, the UN projects that 4.1 million people are facing high levels of food insecurity, including 588,000 who faced emergency levels between June and August, Griffiths said. Almost half of those people could not be reached because of insecurity, and the UN fears “some people may already be at the level of catastrophe and already dying”.

Griffiths urged the Security Council to “leave no stone unturned” in trying to end these conflicts, and to step up financing for humanitarian operations, saying UN appeals in those four countries are all “well below half of the required funding”.

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Joint programme between President’s Fund and Janashakthi Foundation to expand healthcare facilities for children

Published

32 mins ago

2026/05/7

Priyan

(Pic PMD)

A special collaboration between the Presidents’s Fund and the Janashakthi Foundation, aimed at expanding healthcare facilities available to children under the age of 18, was launched on Wednesday (06) morning.

Implemented under the theme “Building a Healthier Today for a Winning Tomorrow”, this national initiative has been introduced through the joint efforts of the President’s Fund and the Janashakthi Foundation with the objective of reducing the financial barriers associated with children’s healthcare.

Under the President’s Fund, only a portion of the medical expenses incurred by a patient is generally covered. However, under this new collaboration, the Janashakthi Foundation will provide either an equivalent amount or the remaining balance of the treatment cost, whichever is lower.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary to the President’s Fund and Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Roshan Gamage, stated that the present Government had taken steps to decentralise and digitalise the operations of the President’s Fund, thereby transforming it into a truly people-centric fund. He noted that this had reinforced public confidence in the Fund’s transparency, accountability and effectiveness and added that the collaboration with the Janashakthi Foundation had further strengthened this process.

Gamage further stated that close and meaningful coordination with the private sector would help enhance healthcare assistance provided to children and minimise the gap between the financial aid available and the actual cost of essential medical treatment.

Also addressing the gathering, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of the Janashakthi Group, Ramesh Schaffter, stated that difficulties in accessing medical treatment constitute a major obstacle preventing children from progressing towards a better future.

He further stated that the collaboration seeks to reduce that obstacle by extending support to children who are in urgent need of assistance, thereby laying the foundation for future generations to face tomorrow with greater confidence.

Under this programme, applicants seeking additional financial assistance are required, when applying to the President’s Fund, to duly complete and submit a consent form authorising the secure sharing of their information with the Janashakthi Foundation.

The identification of children requiring financial assistance, verification of their information and approval of funds will continue to be carried out by the President’s Fund.

Under this initiative, payments will generally be made to the guardians of children following the completion of treatment. However, in cases involving emergency treatment and treatment conducted overseas, payments will be made in advance.

Applicants submitting medical assistance applications to the President’s Fund from 15 May 2026 onwards will be eligible to apply for additional funding from the Janashakthi Foundation.

The event, held at the Hilton Colombo, was attended by J.M. Wijebandara, Director General of Legal Affairs at the Presidential Secretariat and Advisor to the President (Legal Affairs); C.T.A. Schaffter, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Janashakthi Group; Gamika De Silva, Group Chief Marketing Officer; Dilshan Wirasekara, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Janashakthi Group; as well as officials of the President’s Fund and the Janashakthi Foundation.

President’s Media Division (PMD)

News

Maldivian President concludes state visit to Sri Lanka

Published

1 hour ago

2026/05/7

Priyan

The President of the Republic of Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, departed Sri Lanka on Wednesday morning (06) from the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, concluding a successful state visit to the country.

The visit by the Maldivian President and his delegation further strengthened the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the Maldives and Sri Lanka, while delivering a range of mutual benefits to the peoples of both nations.

This marked President Muizzu’s first state visit to Sri Lanka, during which several mutually beneficial areas of cooperation were agreed upon, underscoring the success of the visit.

Minister of Science and Technology, Krishantha Abeysena, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports , Sunil Kumara Gamage, Member of Parliament Oshani Umanga, along with senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were present at the airport to bid farewell to the Maldivian President, the First Lady and the accompanying delegation.

(President’s Media Division)

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Govt. draws flak over Rs. 500 mn excess Aswesuma payments

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Close on the heels of the USD 2.5 mn theft from the Treasury, the Welfare Benefits Board has reported payment of nearly Rs 500 mn in excess to Aswesuma beneficiaries.

Public action group ‘Free Lawyers’ has raised the latest fiasco to come to light with Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, while requesting that the Parliament, in line with its constitutional obligations, initiate an inquiry.

The letter, dated 06 May, signed by Maithree Gunaratne, PC, Attorney-at-Law Athula de Silva, and Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, on behalf of ‘Free Lawyers’, has alleged that some of the Aswesuma beneficiaries have been paid twice while others received the additional/extra payment.

Responding to The Island queries, Tennakoon said that sheer negligence on the part of those responsible for public finance was shocking.

Alleging that the NPP government seemed to be operating outside basic rules and regulations pertaining to public finances, the former Governor asked the Speaker whether the wrongful Aswesuma payments had been made due to political appointments made at the expense of the experienced and competent staff. (SF)