Tens of millions of displaced women, men, and children are pushed closer to famine because of ongoing conflict in Ukraine, disruptions in major globalfood systems, aid diversion and a reduction in humanitarian funding and assistance.
In the report “Hammer-blow: How the conflict in Ukraine will have a catastrophic impact on displaced communities in crises“, the Norwegian Refugee Council said that the Ukraine war is a major compounding factor pushing vulnerable communities toward famine. “As of June 2022, close to 50 million people in countries affected by conflict and displacement are spiralling toward famine,”, the report said.
The report stated that levels of hunger in 2021 surpassed all previous records with close to 193 million people acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance across 33) countries and territories.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS
More than 88 per cent of all internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2021 were in countries or territories experiencing food-crisis. Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Ethiopia and Sudan – were among the ten largest food crises countries in 2021 by numbers of people experiencing acute or worse food insecurity. Out of around 21 million refugees and four million asylum seekers globally in 2021, over 60 percent were hosted in countries or territories experiencing food-crisis, where a mix of conflict and insecurity, Covid-19, poverty, food insecurity and weather extremes compounded their humanitarian plight.
KEY FINDINGS
• Countries and territories experiencing high levels of conflict and displacement, also experienced some of the highest levels of food insecurity. Many practitioners are anticipating major and potentially disproportionate impact on displacement affected communities.
• Refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs report witnessing a sharp increase in food insecurity over the last 6-12 months, in some cases reporting tripling or quadrupling prices of basic food basket item and significantly reduced availability in many contexts.
• Refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs in communities where NRC operates are reporting significant challenges in accessing adequate food to meet the needs of their household) both in terms of quantity and diversity
• Food insecurity will likely be a compounding factor of community tension and conflict with many refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs in NRC areas of operation already reporting increased tension, violence, and insecurity within their respective communities, with rising food insecurity as a major contributing factor. Food security is also likely to become a driving factor for internal and cross-border displacement.
• Negative coping strategies employed by affected populations are and will continue to rise because of increased food insecurity including meal skipping, debt accumulation, early forced marriage, and child labour.
• The prospects and conditions for durable solutions to displacement are increasingly undermined in many contexts by both food insecurity and associated negative coping strategies. The capacity and avenues for marginalised groups, including women, youth, and elderly, to recover and become self-reliant are reduced.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
• States should sustain and intensify diplomatic and multilateral efforts to address the root causes of food insecurity, including newly emerged and protracted conflict. This should be done through the UN Security Council (UNSC), other multilateral fora, and direct bilateral diplomatic engagement.
• UNSC should fully implement and assess adherence to Resolutions 2417 (2018) and 2573 (2021). Sustained and systematic monitoring of food insecurity and the risk of famine in conflict affected states and violations of international humanitarian law – including denial of access, the use of hunger as a weapon, attacks on or destruction of civilian infrastructure (including food systems), and attacks on civilians – should be prioritised by UNSC members for timely and adequate response and accountability measures.
• States should avoid unnecessary food protectionism and individualistic trade policies on essential goods as this approach will only bring relief to the country in the short run. It will also further reduce and disrupt global supplies, reduce the capacity of global markets to absorb shocks, and further increase prices.
• National and local authorities, donors, and humanitarian actors should immediately prioritise refugee and IDP inclusion in existing or expanded social protection programming and/or new standalone social protection programming. They should aim to mitigate as much as possible the primary and secondary consequences of rising food insecurity and other displacement associated consequences, including widespread negative coping strategies.
• Donors should refrain from diverting aid, and from funding and resource cuts to humanitarian crises because of the Ukraine crisis and domestic refugee programming costs.
• Humanitarian Country Teams should strengthen and prioritise coordination across agencies, clusters, and sector working groups toward a more holistic response to food insecurity among displacement affected populations. They should also mitigate the secondary consequences
