UN officials highlight link between hunger and conflict

UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- UN officials on Friday highlighted the link between hunger and conflict, saying that famine is man-made in today's world.

"There is no reason that there should ever be famine in the world today. There's actually no reason that there should be hunger in the world today when we have 300 trillion (U.S.) dollars of available wealth," David Beasley, the executive director of the World Food Program, told the Security Council in a briefing.

"The question we should ask ourselves today is what is driving this extreme hunger rate. And the answer ... is man-made conflict."

The number of people on the brink of starvation rose from 80 million to 124 million in the past three years, he said. South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and northeastern Nigeria are on the brink of famine, he said.

Beasley stressed that the link between hunger and conflict is as strong as it is destructive. Each one-percent rise in the rate of hunger is matched by a two-percent increase in migration, he said.

He also stressed the importance of putting war-torn countries and regions back to their feet through development aid.

He asked the Security Council to help end conflict and to make sure that aid agencies have the access to deliver humanitarian aid and development support. "Until we do that we will never solve hunger."

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock also briefed the council.

He said it is possible to eradicate famine within our lifetime owing to a dramatic expansion in agricultural output and productivity.

In the past 50 years, food grain production increased four-fold by using only 12 percent more agricultural land, he said.

Nearly two-thirds of the world's hungary live in countries in conflict. Nearly 490 million undernourished people and almost 80 percent of the world's 155 million stunted children live in countries affected by conflict, he said.

The behavior of combatants in these contexts is often atrocious, he stressed. Humanitarian access is too often difficult or denied. In some cases, starvation is being used as a weapon of warfare. Warring parties continue to damage or destroy water systems, farms, livestock and markets.

Lowcock said the Security Council has the means to investigate violations of international humanitarian law. There are no humanitarian solutions to conflict, it is peace and political solutions that will disrupt the vicious cycle of conflict and hunger, he said. Enditem