{"id":14241,"date":"2023-01-02T04:38:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T12:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=14241"},"modified":"2023-01-02T04:38:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-02T12:38:27","slug":"russias-war-on-ukraine-worsens-global-starvation-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=14241","title":{"rendered":"“Russia\u2019s War on Ukraine Worsens Global Starvation”, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>Edward Wong<\/span> and Ana Swanson, Jan 2, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

Moscow blocks most shipments from Ukraine, one of the world\u2019s largest wheat producers, and its attacks on the country\u2019s energy grid also disrupt the flow of food<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(World Campaign\/Planet Earth Foundation public service campaign on world hunger and Ukraine).<\/a><\/p>\n

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From March to November, Ukraine exported an average of 3.5 million metric tons per month of grains and oilseeds, a drop from five million to seven million metric tons per month before the war.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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ISTANBUL \u2014 Hulking ships carrying Ukrainian wheat and other grains are backed up along the Bosporus here in Istanbul as they await inspections before moving on to ports around the world.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The number of ships sailing through this narrow strait, which connects Black Sea ports to wider waters, plummeted when Russia invaded Ukraine 10 months ago and imposed a naval blockade. Under diplomatic pressure, Moscow has begun allowing some vessels to pass<\/a>, but it continues to restrict most shipments from Ukraine<\/a>, which together with Russia once exported a quarter of the world\u2019s wheat.<\/p>\n

And at the few Ukrainian ports that are operational, Russia\u2019s missile and drone attacks on Ukraine\u2019s energy grid periodically cripple the grain terminals where wheat and corn are loaded onto ships.<\/p>\n

An enduring global food crisis has become one of the farthest-reaching consequences of Russia\u2019s war, contributing to widespread starvation, poverty and premature deaths.<\/p>\n

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The United States and allies are struggling to reduce the damage. American officials are organizing efforts to help Ukrainian farmers get food out of their country through rail and road networks that connect to Eastern Europe and on barges traveling up the Danube River.<\/p>\n

But as deep winter sets in and Russia presses assaults on Ukraine\u2019s infrastructure, the crisis is worsening. Food shortages are already being exacerbated by a drought in the Horn of Africa and unusually harsh weather in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n

The United Nations World Food Program estimates that more than 345 million people<\/a> are suffering from or at risk of acute food insecurity<\/a>, more than double the number from 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dealing now with a massive food insecurity crisis,\u201d Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said last month at a summit with African leaders in Washington. \u201cIt\u2019s the product of a lot of things, as we all know,\u201d he said, \u201cincluding Russia\u2019s aggression against Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The food shortages and high prices are causing intense pain across Africa, Asia and the Americas. U.S. officials are especially worried about Afghanistan and Yemen, which have been ravaged by war<\/a>. Egypt, Lebanon and other big food-importing nations are finding it difficult to pay their debts and other expenses because costs have surged. Even in wealthy countries like the United States<\/a> and Britain<\/a>, soaring inflation driven in part by the war\u2019s disruptions has left poorer people without enough to eat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A line for food aid in Kabul. An enduring global food crisis has become one of the farthest-reaching consequences of Russia\u2019s war.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cBy attacking Ukraine, the breadbasket of the world, Putin is attacking the world\u2019s poor, spiking global hunger when people are already on the brink of famine,\u201d said Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID.<\/p>\n

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