Cairo: Oxfam, an organization working for the eradication of poverty, has said that every minute 11 people die due to starvation worldwide and in the last one year, in the whole world. The number of people exposed to famine-like situations has increased six-fold.
Oxfam said in a report titled ‘The Hunger Virus Multiplex’ that the death toll due to starvation has exceeded the number of people who have died due to Covid-19. Due to Covid-19, about seven people die every single minute in the world. Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Aux Hunger Fam America, said, “The figures are shocking. But we must not forget that these figures are made of people who are going through unimaginable suffering.”
The report said that about 155 million people in the world are facing the acute crisis of food insecurity and this figure is 20 million more than the figures of last year. About two-thirds of these people are victims of starvation and this is due to the ongoing military conflict in their country. Maxman said, “The economic impact of Covid-19 and the ruthless conflicts, the worsening climate crisis has pushed more than 5,20,000 people to the brink of starvation. Instead of coping with the global pandemic, conflicting factions are fighting each other, ultimately affecting millions of people who are already reeling under weather-related disasters and economic shocks.
Oxfam said that despite the global pandemic coronavirus, worldwide military spending increased by $51 billion during the pandemic, an amount at least six times the amount the United Nations needs to end hunger. Is too much. The countries that have been placed on the list of “most affected by hunger” in this report are Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. There are situations of conflict in all these countries.
“Hunger is being used as a weapon of war by depriving ordinary citizens of food, water, and humanitarian relief,” Maxman said. If markets are being bombed, crops and cattle are being destroyed, people cannot stay safe or find food.” The organization urged the governments to stop the conflicts otherwise starvation conditions would become disastrous.
