The world is facing a global food security crisis with multiple causes, including: climate change, COVID-19 and conflict, including Russia’s ongoing unprovoked war against Ukraine. More than 765 million people worldwide were chronically hungry in 2021.
In response to this growing global crisis, the United States, the European Union, the African Union and Spain will co-chair the Global Summit on Food Security on September 20, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Other co-hosts include Germany, Colombia, Nigeria, the European Commission and Indonesia.
The Summit live stream and additional information can be found below.
The climate crisis is crippling global agricultural production. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused job and income losses, as well as supply chain disruptions. The ongoing conflict in various countries around the world is further compounding these issues.
Due to the unprecedented drought in the Horn of Africa, approximately 20.5 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are in need of emergency food assistance to meet basic needs at the end of August. The UN has projected that some areas of Somalia could face famine later this year in the absence of additional humanitarian assistance.
According to @WFP, up to 50 million people in 45 countries are on the brink of starvation and at risk of falling without humanitarian support.
For our part, since February, the US has provided more than $5.7 billion in assistance to food security operations.
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) September 15, 2022
