Millions in the Middle East and Africa could be on the brink of famine soon, warned Cindy McCain, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture.
''Putin's war is forcing us to take from the hungry to feed the starving. Rising prices force hard decisions to cut rations in some of the most desperate humanitarian crises in the world, including [those in] Afghanistan and Yemen,'' McCain told C-SPAN on Monday.
As a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 13 million people worldwide could experience food insecurity. According to The Hill, over 50 countries depend on both Russia and Ukraine to produce approximately 30% of their wheat supply.
In addition, the U.N. World Food Program, which feeds 138 million people in more than 80 countries, gets much of its wheat from Ukraine. According to the WFP, Ukraine's grain supply feeds 400 million people in an average year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has warned, however, that the war is set to lead to a major decrease in that figure.
Russia is expected to increase its annual wheat exports by 1 million tons, while Ukraine is expected to decrease its wheat exports by that number, since Ukrainian farmers may choose to plant crops for local consumption rather than for exports due to the ports on the Black Sea being closed.
Regarding Ukraine, McCain said that ''Russia is bombing one of the major breadbaskets of the world. This war will further exacerbate global food insecurity by interfering with the upcoming planting season and the transport of food within the country.''
The U.N. plans to ''feed more with less'' by giving vulnerable populations the most nutritious foods, McCain said, adding that the WFP supplies packets of high-protein nutritional paste for babies and children in areas of famine, who are the first affected in most humanitarian crises.
She said that ''these are nutrients that we take for granted here in the United States. because of course our children get them. These kids can't survive on just wheat and grain.''
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