The Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the effects of climate change, according to the International Monetary Fund, are to blame for the 860 million people who are currently going hungry worldwide. The IMF also noted that the world is currently experiencing a food crisis akin to the one that occurred in 2007–2008, during which many countries experienced food shortages.
The Fund noted that the world has been experiencing a growing food crisis since 2018, which has caused a rise in the price of food commodities and an aggravation of food production and distribution.
He noted that when the Russian-Ukrainian crisis increased pressure on the price of basic goods and fertilisers internationally, the situation worsened in 2022 and prices increased even further.
The nation that primarily imports food from Ukraine experienced the worst losses.
The Fund emphasised that the crisis had the greatest impact on 48 low-income countries, the majority of which were in the Sahel region and sub-Saharan Africa. This was either because their balance of payments were under significant strain due to the high cost of food and fertiliser, or because the World Food Program had designated them as having food insecurity.
The Fund put forth four proposals to address the current global food crisis, starting with the promotion of humanitarian aid to vulnerable families, allowing the flow of food from surplus countries to countries in need through open trade, immediately lifting the export ban on food by major producers, improving food production, and finally distribution. investing in crops resistant to climate change.
The IMF urged the international community to step up and offer comprehensive aid, such as policy recommendations, capacity building, support for the most impacted nations, and debt relief to assist the poorest nations in allocating funds for food-related expenditures.
The IMF offers four options and warns of a worsening of the world food situation.
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