Chronic Hunger in Africa Threatens Peace and Stability, WFP Chief Warns
New York, Jun 30 2005 3:00PM
The greatest humanitarian crisis facing the world today is in southern Africa, where more than 8 million people face
starvation, and a "lethal mix" of AIDS, recurring drought and failing governance is slowly destroying social structures
and undermining peace and security, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.
In much of Africa, the prevalence of chronic hunger is an accurate barometer for the level of social instability, WFP
Executive-Director James Morris, told the Security Council in a public meeting on food crises in Africa. "It does not
matter whether that instability is caused by civil conflict, drought AIDS, poor governance, or any combination of those
factors – hunger almost always comes with it," he said.
Setting the stage for the Council's debate, Mr. Morris opened his briefing by quoting a recent plea made by Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo: 'A hungry person is an angry person. It is in all our interests to take away the cause of
that anger.'
Chronic hunger in the African countryside spurs continual rural to urban migration. The existence of at least some basic
services acts as a lure, and, with the very likely possibility that waves of AIDS orphans will head to major cities as
antiretroviral drugs become more widely available, unemployment, social disintegration and urban crime are sure to rise.
With projections for urban population growth in sub-Saharan Africa among the highest in the world, at a certain point
capacities of municipal governments will be stretched to the limit and social demands will not be met, which may
aggravate internal political and social tensions, especially among competing ethnic groups perhaps not accustomed to
sharing the same political space.
Mr. Morris urged international donors to devote more attention helping governments bolster safety nets in booming cities
like Nairobi, Lagos and Lusaka, and called on African governments to invest in agriculture and other sectors to
encourage Africans to remain in the countryside.
Mr. Morris, who is also Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, singled
out that region as particularly vulnerable and deserving of international attention. The HIV/AIDS pandemic was now
beginning to take its toll not only in lives lost but also by undermining the capacity of devastated communities to
produce food and educate their children, he said.
"In 2003, alone, Lesotho lost a third of its health workers and 15 per cent of its teachers," he said, adding that aids
has claimed the lives of nearly 8 million African farmers - more farmers than there are in North America and the
European Union combined.
Mr. Morris went on to highlight some positive signs for Africa, its home-grown New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD), greater cooperation within the continent on famine relief, Bob Geldof's revival of "LiveAid", and the G8's
recent debt relief initiative.
But much remained to be done. "In 2000 at the Millennium Summit, every nation here made [the pledge] to halve hunger and
poverty. It is time we began to show progress and with that, build peace and security in a troubled continent," he said.
ENDS