The head of the World Food Programme is warning of “extraordinary conditions” in six to nine months unless other food-producing countries compensate for shortages resulting from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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This week marked the inaugural European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels, a gathering set to happen annually, but which might have gotten more than it bargained for in this first installment.
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“We may look back at 2022 as the year that broke the back of the humanitarian system as we know it today,” said USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman, pointing to broken supply chains and rising food, fuel, and transport costs.
David Beasley, the head of WFP, took the occasion to warn that the world has a limited amount of time to figure out how to compensate for crop losses brought on by the conflict, Vince Chadwick reports. According to Beasley, Ukraine usually produces enough food to feed 400 million people, and the shockwaves of losing that supply will be felt far and wide.
“Try quadrupling the food pricing in Sahel and Niger, in Syria, and people are not going to survive,” Beasley said. “You will have destabilization of many nations in about six to nine months from now if we don’t get ahead of it,” he added.
'A heck of a problem': WFP chief warns of aid crisis amid Ukraine war
One region that is particularly vulnerable to rising food prices and food supply shortages is the Horn of Africa, which is currently experiencing one of its worst droughts in recent history.
To make matters worse, my colleague Sara Jerving reports that the region is overly dependent on crops from Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, all crises may not be equal in the eyes of aid donors.
Sara writes: “Humanitarian organizations have expressed concern donor governments are already shifting aid budgets to fund the Ukraine response over other crises. Currently, the United Nations’ $6 billion appeal for efforts in Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan is only 3% funded. And as prices rise, humanitarian agencies have less purchasing power with their limited funds.”
Sara recently traveled to Puntland, Somalia, and documented in a must-read visual story how consecutive failed rainy seasons are forcing families to make impossible choices.
Horn of Africa: Ukraine's crisis is expected to deepen drought devastation in the region
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, agriculture and nutrition expert based in Nigeria, writes in an op-ed for Devex that there are “three critical steps” that governments, global food and trading companies, and the development sector can take now to mitigate the global food fallout from the war in Ukraine.
Opinion: Amid the Ukraine invasion, we must avert the next food crisis
+ For the latest news on the global food system, sign up to Devex Dish, and receive the latest edition — which tackles how the effects of the war in Ukraine are already being felt in the Near East and North Africa — today.
Close to home
“The spirit of the Ukrainian people is incredible. In my family, it is the women that are keeping very strong. And the message I get from them is that ‘We are going to win this war, we are going to persevere.’”
— Kristalina Georgieva, managing director, International Monetary FundFor Georgieva, the war in Ukraine is personal: Her family is caught up in the fighting. Speaking Tuesday at a Foreign Policy event, the IMF chief reported that her brother’s family is currently safe in Kharkiv, even as water and electricity supplies are problematic.
Shabtai Gold tells me IMF will downgrade its economic outlook next month, and Georgieva said some countries face the prospect of slipping into outright recession. “Those that were not yet coming out of the COVID crisis, that were falling further behind, are going to be hit even harder” by the fallout from the war.
‘Future proof’
Aerium Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company whose name derives from the Latin for “airborne,” launched Tuesday under the leadership of Rajeev Venkayya, formerly of Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Aerium is currently developing two monoclonal antibodies that Venkayya says could have the potential to “future-proof” pandemic response plans.
“Global equity and access is embedded in everything we are doing and part of our founding philosophy,” he tells my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo.
Devex Pro: New biotech company focuses on COVID-19 treatments
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New guidelines
On Monday, the World Health Organization released new guidelines for the management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents. Jenny has the key takeaways — including a recommendation that treatment for children and adolescents with mild or nonsevere forms of TB be shortened from six months to four months.
Read: Innovation needed in child TB care as WHO releases new guidelines
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Market signals
Dr. Chibuzo Opara, co-founder and co-CEO at DrugStoc, writes for Devex that Africa’s overdependence on imported pharmaceuticals hinders both the continent’s ability to tackle health challenges and its economic potential from a pharmaceutical market. Opara offers five prescriptions for boosting Africa’s own pharma sector.
Opinion: How rethinking Africa’s pharma sector can unlock economic growth
In other news
Amazon announced Tuesday that it will convert its warehouse in Slovakia into a humanitarian hub to get aid supplies to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. [GeekWire]
MacKenzie Scott has given $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates to promote and provide affordable housing around the world. [AP]
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has called out the U.S. for its speedy release of aid to Ukraine, while two projects for Central America still await approval. [The Hill]
Save the Children has refused a $1 million donation to its response in Ukraine from an oil and gas company, citing the charity's plan to no longer accept money from fossil fuel businesses. [The Telegraph]
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
