U.N. Secretary-General Warns Of Mass Famine

At the Global Food Security Call to Action ministerial meeting in New York on May 18, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned of looming mass famine and the need for nations to work together to avoid regional conflicts caused by severe food shortages.

The meeting, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, brought together foreign ministers from a diverse group of countries from 30 regions to review urgent humanitarian and development needs and identify steps to address global food security, nutrition, and land resilience.

Global hunger levels are currently at an all-time high. In just two years, the economic shocks caused by the CCP virus pandemic have increased food insecurity, reduced incomes, and disrupted supply chains. More than 500,000 people live in severe famine, more than a five-fold increase since 2016. And the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February has again amplified and accelerated all of these issues. Climate change, the CCP virus, and regional conflicts threaten to push tens of millions of people to the brink of food insecurity, followed by malnutrition and mass starvation. This food crisis could last for years.

Guterres called on all countries to work together to address the global food shortage. He proposed that governments, international financial institutions, and others take urgent measures, including fertilizer supplies, financial support, and protection for smallholder producers, to address the crisis short-term with urgency while also preventing long-term disaster.