One person is estimated to be dying of hunger every four seconds as the demand across the world galore for saving lives. As world leaders gather for the 77th United Nations General Assembly, 238 international and local non-governmental organisations called on them to take decisive action to end the spiralling global hunger crisis.
In a signed open letter, the organisations from 75 countries said that despite promises from world leaders to never allow famine again in the 21st century, famine is once more imminent in Somalia. Around the world, 50 million people are on the brink of starvation in 45 countries.
HUNGER; FAMINE
“The lives of millions of girls, boys, women, and men depend on the bold and courageous actions you, the United Nations Member States, take – or fail to take – when you gather at the UN General Assembly in the coming weeks. We must not let people starve to death on our watch. There is no place for famine in the 21st century,”they said in the open letter.
Expressing outrage at skyrocketing hunger levels and recommendations for action, the organisations said that a staggering 345 million people are now experiencing acute hunger, a number that has more than doubled since 2019.
In the letter, they said “the international community and national governments are failing to meet their duty and have prioritised political and economic interests over the wellbeing of the world’s most vulnerable children, families and communities. While political leaders have made many promises, in the cities, towns, villages, and refugee and internal displacement camps where millions of lives hang in the balance, far too little has changed.”
The signatories mentioned that the lack of political will and institutional failure to act quickly before the worst-case hits means people are being left to lurch from crisis to crisis. People are not starving; they are being starved, they lamented.
