In an open letter, ACTED and 237 other organisations call on the world leaders gathering in New York City for the 77th United Nations General Assembly to take immediate action to end the global food crisis ravaging many countries (Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, South Sudan, Nigeria, etc.).
50 million of people are at risk of starvation while it is already too late for some since one person dies of hunger every four seconds. ACTED witnesses firsthand and on a daily basis this situation in the Horn of Africa as famine is projected to occur in Baidoa and Burhakaba, Somalia, between October and December.
Famine prevention and mitigation, now and in the future, must be a top priority at this year’s UN General Assembly. This means providing enough, fast, flexible, multi-year funding to save lives now and a promise to work collectively to deliver on commitments to reach Zero Hunger and end hunger crises once and for all.
There is no place for famine in the 21st century. To save lives NOW, world leaders must immediately deliver the funding needed to reach 50 million people on the edge of starvation.
We urge the international community to:
- Save the lives of the 882,000 experiencing catastrophic hunger and the 50 million others at risk of famine by prioritising flexible, multi-year and unearmarked funding especially to local actors who are able to act quickly thanks to their knowledge of the field and people’s needs.
- Build resilience by strengthening early warning systems, the food systems, providing special support to people with special needs (elderly, women-headed households, people with disabilities, etc.), and implementing activities with long lasting impacts.
- Allocate more funding to climate adaptation finance, the response to the global hunger crisis and the evidence-based nutrition interventions.