‘270 million People Facing Starvation Globally’
Ugo Aliogo with agency report
A worldwide coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGO) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) has raised the alarm over the rise in the number of people, estimated at 270 million, facing starvation globally.
In an open letter to leaders of nations across the world endorsed by 260 NGOs and CSOs including Plan International, the coalition said some, ‘270 million people are facing hunger, starvation or famine all over the world.’
“Every day, we bear witness to suffering and resilience. In Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, DRC, Honduras, Venezuela, Nigeria, Haiti, CAR, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sudan and beyond we help people who are doing all they can to simply get through one more day,” the open letter read in part.
According to the Global Hunger Index’s (GHI) 2020, hunger is highest in the region of Africa South of the Sahara where Nigeria belongs.
The 2020 Global Hunger Index (GHI) ranks Nigeria 98th out of 107 countries with 12.6 percent of the population malnourished. With a score of 29.2, Nigeria has a level of hunger that is classified serious just five points away from alarming in the scale.
It called on leaders in the countries to take-action in contributing to stop the hunger across the globe, by providing, “additional $5.5 billion needed for urgent food assistance to reach more than 34 million girls, boys, women and men around the globe who are a step away from famine.”
It stated that, “It is human actions that are driving famine and hunger and it is our actions that can stop the worst impacts.”
The coalition added: “Every day, we work with people who are fully capable of producing or earning enough to feed themselves and their families. These people are not starving, they are being starved. These girls and boys, men and women, are being starved by conflict and violence; by inequality; by the impacts of climate change; by the loss of land, jobs or prospects; by a fight against COVID-19 that has left them even further behind.”
