The war in Ukraine is exacerbating the suffering of millions of people, provoking rising food and energy prices and exacerbating the financial crisis, in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. This is stated in a UN report released on Wednesday, June 8, the AP writes.
The UN Global Crisis Response Group says the war "has exacerbated a global cost-of-living crisis unseen in at least a generation" and undermines UN aspirations to end extreme poverty around the world by 2030.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who chairs a group appointed to assess the impact of russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, said at a news conference that "the impact of the war on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe and accelerating." He said the war, along with other crises, "threatens to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and poverty with social and economic chaos in its wake".
"Vulnerable people and vulnerable countries are already being hit hard, but make no mistake: no country or community will be unaffected by this cost-of-living crisis," the UN chief warned.
According to him, food prices are close to record highs and fertilizer prices have doubled.
"Without fertilizers, shortages will spread from corn and wheat to all staple crops, including rice, with devastating consequences for billions of people in Asia and South America," he said.
Next year, there could be a lack of food, the UN secretary general added.
According to the report, about 180 million people in 41 of the 53 countries where data was available will face a food crisis or worsening conditions this year, and another 19 million people will face "chronic malnutrition worldwide in 2023".
In addition, the report says, record high energy prices are causing fuel shortages and power outages in all parts of the world, especially in Africa.
Rebecca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and co-facilitator of the Global Crisis Response Group, warned of social unrest and political instability "as a result of the weakened ability of countries and families to cope with yet another global crisis, alongside COVID-19 and the climate crisis".
She called on international financial institutions - especially the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund - to increase rapid payouts to bolster the financial resources of countries in need. It also urged the G20, which includes the world's 20 largest economies, to reintroduce debt service suspensions for poor countries and extend debt maturities by two to five years.
Earlier the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that lack of export from Ukraine due to the blockade of ports by russia threatens hunger for more than ten African and Asian countries.