In January 2021, Palestinian volunteer cooks will distribute food cooked with ingredients obtained from donors to help poor families in the poor areas of Gaza.
AFP via Getty Images
Oxfam states that Gazans is the first to experience hunger associated with shortages and price increases from Russia’s provocative attacks.
CTemporary damage from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s provocative war in Ukraine will almost certainly include rising hunger and food insecurity around the world, and Palestinians are in a pinch, according to international aid organization Oxfam. I feel.
According to Oxfam, Palestinian wheat stores can be depleted in just three weeks. The war has affected food exports by both Ukraine and Russia, two of the world’s largest wheat exporters, and most families in the Gaza Strip are now reducing food consumption and buying food with credit. ..
Najira Shawa, Head of Food Security at Oxfam’s Gaza, said: “We feel very stuck at this stage.”
Oxfam reports that the global hunger crisis is ready to hit a new crescendo. The most suffering are countries that rely on imported grain from the war zone, including Yemen, which imports 22% of the grain from Ukraine. Lebanon gets 50%. Tunisia sources 42% of wheat in Ukraine. Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Algeria, Morocco and Ethiopia are also heavily dependent on grain imports from Russia and Ukraine. Countries suffering from current or recent armed conflict, such as Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan, are also vulnerable.
Rising prices have reduced the purchasing power of struggling families around the world, making it even more difficult to buy adequate health foods. Food rations sent to Yemen are declining, with 16.2 million people running out of food and famine-like conditions continue. Egypt and Jordan, where wheat prices have risen by 20% in recent weeks, are two countries that are already considering stopping wheat exports to prevent food from leaving the country.
“Production and supply disruptions can push up prices and affect millions of vulnerable families, especially in hunger hotspots,” said Kyle Wilkinson of the United Nations World Food Program. Middle East and North African countries are “especially vulnerable to rising food prices because they import large amounts of food.”
Palestine can be a canary in a coal mine. The Palestinian Authority does not have its own food storage facility, which complicates the matter and more directly links price and market volatility. About 95% of Palestinian wheat demand is imported, about one-third of which comes from Ukraine. Many are shipped via Israel, which relies on Ukraine for 50% of its grain. About 40% of Palestinian imported sunflower oil and 14% of corn oil also come from Ukraine.
Before the war in Ukraine, hunger was already widespread in Palestine. About one-third of Palestinians have food insecurity. According to the World Food Program, “long-term conflicts, economic stagnation, and restricted access to trade and resources continue to pose serious challenges, coupled with high unemployment and poverty rates.”
According to Oxfam, more than 2.1 million Palestinians will need humanitarian assistance this year. The majority of people who are expected to need help are in Gaza, with more than 60% of the population suffering from food insecurity.
“We are witnessing how the world’s food and agricultural systems are highly disruptive and how the consequences of disruption are brought about by those who are already vulnerable and marginalized,” said senior scientists. And director Ricardo Salvador said. A food and environmental program for the Union of Concerned Scientists. “One of the consequences of our industrial farming system is the lack of flexibility to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Many farmers are already fixed at set production levels and You may even have sold future crops. “
The Palestinian Authority disagrees with Oxfam’s assessment, stating that flour reserves can last up to three months. The government has temporarily exempted flour and bakeries to remove obstacles to food supply to people.
According to Oxfam’s shower, the situation in Gaza is becoming dire. “Our work in Gaza is getting harder and harder,” Shawa said. “It’s hard to explain the true level of damage that all of this is doing to people’s lives. It’s devastating.”
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