Washington, DC, 3 March 2023 – This morning, the 缅北禁地Information Center in Washington participated in a joint student briefing with the at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Representatives of both 缅北禁地offices explained to students how the 缅北禁地family is working together to tackle the global food crisis, which has been exacerbated by the . Starting with background on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the briefers showed how the world is currently not on track to meet SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by 2030.
Brenden Varma, Deputy Director of the 缅北禁地Information Center in Washington, began by describing the current “challenging moment for global food security,” noting that: a staggering three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet; the number of people affected by hunger has more than doubled in the past three years; and almost a million people are living in famine conditions, with starvation and death a daily reality. Focusing on the gender dimensions of hunger, he pointed out that, in nearly two thirds of countries, women are more likely than men to face food insecurity.
Mr. Varma explained how the conflict in Ukraine, which followed the launch of a Russian Federation military offensive on 24 February 2022, had led to a spike in global food prices. In order to alleviate that, the Black Sea Grain Initiative was launched in Istanbul by the Russian Federation, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations, on 22 July 2022. Through this initiative, a mechanism was established for the safe exports of grain, related foodstuffs and fertilizer, including ammonia, from designated Ukrainian ports to global markets. The purpose of the Initiative was to contribute to the prevention of global hunger, to reduce and address global food insecurity, and to ensure the safety of merchant ships delivering grain and foodstuffs.
For her part, Jocelyn G. Brown Hall, Director of the FAO Liaison Office for North America, expanded on what FAO was doing in Ukraine to alleviate global food insecurity. Specifically, FAO was: providing urgently needed production inputs to farmers, including vegetable seeds and seed potatoes to over 30,000 households; working with the Ukrainian Government to safeguard existing and upcoming harvests; providing temporary storage solutions for over 6 million tons of grain; and expanding export capabilities of grain and food commodities.
