World Food Programme warns of mass food insecurity if Middle East conflict continues

Summary

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that the escalating hostilities in the Middle East could lead to record levels of food insecurity and the largest disruption in humanitarian intervention since the COVID-19 pandemic. WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau said, “If this conflict continues, it will send shockwaves across the globe, and families who already cannot afford their next meal will be hit the hardest.” Skau urged the international community to support an adequately funded humanitarian response. Since the United States and Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Iran in February, the conflict has spread to encompass much of the region, causing thousands of civilian casualties and forcibly displacing over 3 million people. The WFP predicts 45 million people may slide into acute hunger if the conflict continues. Due to the heavy reliance of food and aid distribution on energy, the skyrocketing price of oil has placed heightened strain on already vulnerable aid supply lines. Further economic destabilization from the conflict places the region at even greater risk. Import-reliant countries, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, face the greatest risk, as humanitarian organizations are spread even thinner. This is compounded by tightening budgets as well as the proliferation and exacerbation of global crises. Global funding for foreign aid has also shrunk exponentially in recent years, with a sharp decline following President Trump’s signing of Executive Order 14169, which effectively suspended large portions of USAID. Together, these place extraordinary pressure on humanitarian organizations, leaving millions at risk of famine. Last week, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report on the devastating impacts hostilities have had on civilian populations. The US-Israeli attacks are illegal under international law, and the targeting of civilian infrastructure constitutes flagrant violations of the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. This has manifested most scathingly in the US strike on an Iranian school which has left over 170 civilians dead, most of which are children. UN Chief António Guterres has repeatedly demanded an end to the war and warns Lebanon “risks being turned into a wasteland” as Israeli attacks face further war crime allegations.