WorlPosted at: Aug 10 2021 2:12PM Hunger spreading in India's neighbourhood-- Myanmar, Afghanistan
United Nations/New Delhi, Aug 10 (UNI) Hunger is rising in two countries in India's immediate neighbourhood --Myanmar and Afghanistan.
In Myanmar, the political crisis, job losses and the pandemic mean 3.4 million more people will struggle to put food on the table.
The UN Food Programme estimated that the number of people facing hunger could more than double to 6.2 million in the next six months, up from 2.8 million prior to February.
Subsequent surveys carried out by World Food Programme (WFP) have shown that since February, more and more families are being pushed to the edge, struggling to put even the most basic food on the table.
“We have seen hunger spreading further and deeper in Myanmar. Nearly 90 per cent of households living in slum-like settlements around Yangon say they have to borrow money to buy food; incomes have been badly affected for many,” said WFP Myanmar Country Director Stephen Anderson.
In April, the WFP estimated the number of people facing hunger in Myanmar could more than double to 6.2 million in the next six months, up from 2.8 million prior to February.
WFP has said it is struggling to provide assistance in Myanmar as 70 per cent of its funding needs over the next six months, or $86 million, remain unmet amid the deepening hunger crisis following the February 1 military coup.
Erywan Yosef, ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar Erywan Yosef said his top priority now is to ensure that assistance is extended to Myanmar as soon as possible as the country grapples with the humanitarian crisis caused by deepening food shortages among the people amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Noting the need to "quickly get in the humanitarian assistance" to help the Myanmar people, Erywan said a donors conference is being planned for mid-August.
In Afghanistan, economic distress due to drought, COVID-19, and conflict have pushed 14 million - 1 in 3 Afghans – into acute food insecurity.
This year, the country has reached critical levels of food insecurity, affecting 50 per cent of the country's population of 40 million.
As foreign troops withdraw and fighting intensifies in the country, Action Against Hunger warns of growing humanitarian needs and calls on the international community to remember the thousands of Afghan women, men, and children who face hunger and poverty.
Afghanistan is one of 23 countries the United Nations identified as “hunger hotspots” in a report last month.
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