The U.N. Global Crisis Response Group said the war “has exacerbated a global cost-of-living crisis unseen in at least a generation” and it is underming U.N. aspirations to end extreme poverty around the globe and achieve 16 other goals for a better world by 2030.
The group, appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to assess the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, also said 60% of workers have lower real incomes today than before the pandemic and 60% of the poorest countries are in debt distress or at high risk of it.
Guterres, who chairs the group, said at a news conference that “the war’s impact on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe and speeding up.”
He said the war, along with other crises, “is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake.”
Food imports are expected to total $1.81 trillion this year, surpassing an all-time high set last year by $51 billion, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a report Thursday. Almost all of that is because of inflation, which is worsening a cost-of-living crisis in developed nations and deepening hunger in poorer countries.
An FAO index of food prices surged to a record earlier this year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine curtails shipments from one of the world’s biggest suppliers of vegetable oils and grains. Soaring energy and fertiliser prices are also making it increasingly expensive to produce crops and livestock. That’s raised concerns about global hunger, and the report shows the spike in food costs is already taking a toll on vulnerable areas.
“The war’s impact on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe and speeding up,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
The U.N. is trying to arrange a deal that would allow grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea and unimpeded access to world markets for Russian food and fertilizers. Guterres said hundreds of millions of people in developing countries could face severe hunger without such an agreement
“For people around the world, the war, together with the other crises, is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake,” explained Mr Guterres. “No country will be left untouched by the cost of living crisis. People across the globe will face hunger and energy costs will rise sharply while incomes decrease for many workers.”
He said the number of people deemed severely food insecure has doubled in the past two years.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of weaponizing food supplies by preventing Ukraine from exporting more than 22 million tons of grain. “This is a cold, callous, and calculated siege by Putin on some of the most vulnerable countries and people in the world,” she said.
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