PMA: La Guerra está desencadenando una ola de hambre colateral/
WFP reaches one million people with life-saving food support in conflict-stricken Ukraine

ROMA.- La guerra en Ucrania está provocando «una ola de hambre colateral en otras partes del mundo», alertó hoy el Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA) de Naciones Unidas, que proporciona ayuda alimentaria de emergencia a un millón de personas en varias zonas de ese país.

«El conflicto está desencadenando una ola de hambre colateral en otras partes del mundo», pues el alza de los precios mundiales de los alimentos por la guerra «afectará a los precios locales de los alimentos y limitará aún más el acceso a los mismos para millones de personas que ya están bajo presión debido a la inflación alimentaria en sus países«, dijo el PMA en un comunicado.

El organismo de la ONU recordó que los precios de los alimentos «han aumentado considerablemente desde el inicio del conflicto, alcanzando un máximo histórico en febrero de 2022«.

«El aumento de los precios significa que más personas en todo el mundo caerán en el hambre«, explicó su directora Regional, Corinne Fleischer, que destacó que «las consecuencias del conflicto se irradian hacia el exterior».

Además, «en el PMA también tenemos que pagar más por los alimentos que compramos, por lo que nuestras operaciones para ayudar a esas personas también se ven afectadas. Necesitamos que el mundo dé un paso adelante en este momento crítico», añadió.

Actualmente, la agencia de Naciones Unidas proporciona ayuda alimentaria de emergencia a un millón de personas en varias zonas de Ucrania, gracias a la creación de sistemas capaces de entregar alimentos a gran escala a las comunidades necesitadas con camiones, trenes y minifurgonetas.

«Tras una ampliación masiva de las operaciones, el PMA ha proporcionado 330.000 barras de pan recién horneadas a las familias de la ciudad de Kharkiv, asistencia en efectivo a los desplazados de Lviv y alimentos listos para consumir en varias partes del país», aseguró en la nota.

WFP reaches one million people with life-saving food support in conflict-stricken Ukraine

LVIV – One month into the conflict in Ukraine, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is providing emergency food assistance to one million people in the country and has built systems able to deliver food at scale to communities in need. Trucks, trains and mini vans are today delivering food supplies to the most vulnerable people across the country and more convoys are expected in coming days.

Following a massive scale-up of operations, WFP has provided 330,000 loaves of freshly baked bread to families in the city of Kharkiv, cash assistance to displaced people in Lviv and ready-to-eat food in various parts of the country; WFP emergency food supplies have also made it to the conflict areas of Sumy and Kharkiv through two interagency humanitarian convoys. These achievements come despite a volatile security situation, difficulties finding partners on the ground and the challenges of serving a population on the move.

“Just one month ago, we had no presence on the ground, no staff, no network of suppliers or partners. To build an operation from the ground up and get food to one million people seemed a monumental challenge,” said Jakob Kern, WFP’s emergency coordinator for Ukraine. “Now that the structures are in place, we need the funding to keep delivering assistance, and to help 3 million people in need.”

Over 6.5 million people are displaced inside Ukraine and the pre-conflict supply chain systems for feeding the country’s population have broken down. According to the preliminary findings of a remote assessment by WFP, food is among the top three concerns for people inside Ukraine, along with safety and fuel for transportation.

WFP estimates that 45 percent of the population are worried about finding enough to eat. In a country which used to grow food for 400 million people around the world, one person in five now reports having to reduce the size and number of their meals while adults skip meals so their children can eat. Close to 4 million people — mainly women and children – have fled the conflict and become refugees in neighbouring countries.

“We’re talking about a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe, WFP Executive Director David Beasley told the United Nations Security Council in a briefing on Tuesday. “We would have never dreamed anything like this would be possible. And it’s not just decimating Ukraine and the region. It will have a global impact beyond anything we’ve seen since World War II.”

The conflict in Ukraine is triggering a wave of collateral hunger elsewhere in the world. Global food prices have increased sharply since the onset of the conflict – reaching an all-time high in February 2022.These hikes will affect local food prices and further limit access to food for millions of people who are already under stress because of food inflation in their countries.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.