Monday | 13 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Monday | 13 January 2025 | Epaper

Hunger grips the world 

Published : Sunday, 13 October, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 377
ZAKIR PARVES
We surely keep in mind the famous South African journalist Kevin Carter. In 1994, Carter won the Pulitzer Prize for his famous feature photograph 'Vulture and the little girl'. A vulture stares at a starving child lying on the ground in the photograph that has gone viral.Perhaps, the vulture was waiting for the ailing child to die. Basically, the humanitarian crisis of the famine in Sudan was exposed in Carter's picture. We know that this reality does not exist in the present world. But some news and information still terrify us. 

When we read on the pages of the newspaper, in the space of a few seconds, a starving person dies in the world; we find a piece of darkness in this bright light of the modern world. When we march towards a world without hunger and poverty, we see; About 73.3 crore people are still living in hunger.Among them, according to the data of 'WFP', about 300 million people in 71 countries of the world are under the grip of acute hunger. The modern world that we claim, has the glow of modernity touched all corners of the world?Where people are still failing to meet their basic needs. 

The first two goals of the 'Sustainable Development Goals' are `No Poverty' and `Zero Hunger'.According to the `Global Hunger Index-2024', at least 64 countries will not reach low hungerby 2030. They are much less than zero hunger. The most alarming thing is hunger level has been increasing in South Asia and sub-Saharan countries since 2015. These regions are still at alarming level of hunger.The infant mortality rate is also higher than in other regions of the world.

However, the agenda of SD has been adopted since 2015.It goes without saying that the progress of the SDG in these regions is greatly disrupted.Many analysts claim several factors for the global food crisis. These include regional conflict or war, climate change, economic recession and food waste. We have been observing a severe food crisis in the world for the past two years. The crisis started after the global pandemic, and was also linked to the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, the crisis intensified. In 2022-23, it took its final shape. 

But the crisis is not yet completely alleviated; various appendages are constantly being added to it. War and conflict are once again intensifying in the world. After Ukraine and Gaza, a new war has started in Lebanon. This is pushing the Middle East to the brink of another regional war. This war is likely to create a crude-oil crisis which will indirectly have a negative impact on agricultural production. As a result, the food crisis may intensify. Inner conflict is commonly found among the world's most hunger-stricken countries;as the state structure is weak, many armed groups are fighting among themselves.This conflict often forces them to flee to safer places and disrupts the marketing of food grains. 

Because of their poor preservation system, many crops were wasted. This has exacerbated food shortage in the region. Conflict is the main regulator of such situations in food insecure countries. Especially in Sudan, Syria, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo; food security is now at its worst in history.Long-standing internal disputes and armed conflicts in countries have left them in such a situation. The biggest concern is that hunger is being used as a weapon of war in today's world. Just like John Lilley's famous quote, 'All's fair in love and war'. You can't do whatever you want on the battlefield.

 For this, clear principles of the 'Geneva Conventions' have been laid down. However, the biggest documentary evidence of making hunger a weapon of war is the UN Security Council's "Resolution-2417" adopted in 2018. In this resolution, starvation of civilians and unlawful denial of their human rights is condemned as a tool of war. Certainly, it emphasizes the need to break the vicious cycle of armed conflict and hunger. 

The resolution will serve as a document to hold accountable those who use hunger as a tool of war. Originally this resolution was adopted in the context of the civil war in South Sudan and several other regions. In 2018, nearly 1 million people were food insecure in Sudan. Sudan has not yet come out of this circle. Famine has been confirmed in a shelter at South Darfur in Sudan, reports 'WFP'. This famine means that the march of death has already begun there.The horrors of war across the country have left them in this situation today. 
A long-running ethnic violence, religious conflict; and power struggles; mainly responsible for this situation. We are seeing a repeat of the same phenomenon in the Gaza Strip in Palestine. The whole of Gaza is still considered an open prison under the Israeli occupation. From essential food supplies to human rights defenders access has also been severely restricted. Shelters, camps and hospitals were damaged by constant water, land, and air attacks; Emergency humanitarian services have been disrupted. 

As a result, 80 percent of people in the Gaza Strip alone have been internally displaced. Its direct impact has exacerbated the existing food crisis.The Gaza Strip is one of the countries or regions that are on the brink of famine. This is a clear violation of UN 'Resolution 2417' and international human rights law. A similar situation prevails in Syria. About 5.5 million refugees have sought refuge in Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Turkey due to ongoing violence there.That is why Syria is at the top of the list of the most alarming countries with food shortages. According to the 'Global report on food crisis-2024', 13.45 million people in 20 countries or regions of the world are suffering from extreme food insecurity due to war or conflict.Among them, three countries are in acute crisis - Palestine's Gaza Strip, Sudan and Syria.

 In fact, food shortages have many causes. Among them, war or violence is working in these areas as the main driving force.War is one factor that enhances almost all determinants of food shortages. War forces people to be displaced; As a result, all agricultural activities of the affected people are hampered. Agricultural marketing is disrupted; a large amount of food is wasted.War hinders the economic growth of any country; causes inflation. As a result, food prices run rampant. People's initiative is needed to overcome the economic stagnation, especially in the less developed countries; War hinders that human initiative. As a result, everything came to a standstill.

This all-out stagnation carries with it an extreme food crisis which is also an extreme humanitarian crisis. The UN 'World Food Programme' has undertaken several initiatives. At the same time, they also called for an end to the war. Starting and stopping a war is a political decision. So I think this humanitarian crisis should be solved politically.

The writer is Instructor, 40th BCS (Non-Cadre), Bheramara Govt. Technical School and College, Kushtia



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