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The Nobel Peace Prize is often awarded to statesmen and activists who have rendered great service to the cause of peace in the world. However, this year, the Norwegian committee deciding the award went to an unusual winner: the UN World Food Program. The choice of the winner indicates the severity that hunger represents for world peace; In the words of the chairman of the committee, “the link between hunger and armed conflict is a vicious circle,” adding that while conflict generates food insecurity, lack of access or availability of food can also cause conflict. WFP helped feed 97 million people last year, particularly in Yemen, as well as in other troubled regions like South Sudan and Congo. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic and the global recession that has created risks of pushing between 83 million and 132 million people into hunger. As the WFP director warned earlier this year, the world is facing “multiple famines of biblical proportions”. While the poorest states and conflict zones have been hit hard by hunger due to the pandemic, even the richest nations are not immune. For example, shocking images of meandering bread lines in the United States, the world’s number one economy, in recent months illustrate the depth of the problem.
As for how to tackle this key problem, there are no easy answers. While WFP is to be commended for intervening to feed millions of vulnerable people, the root causes (conflict, inequality, poverty) that fuel hunger in the world must be addressed. Ideally, the destructive cycle of conflict and hunger should be broken. In places like Yemen, this is possible if the powerful actors involved in this brutal war show determination to cease hostilities. Addressing food waste may be another solution, as more than 1 billion tons of food is wasted each year. And since the global economy will be in poor health for the foreseeable future, social safety nets must be put in place to ensure that the world’s poorest and weakest do not go to bed hungry.
Posted in Dawn, Oct 12, 2020
