"Selling Daughters and Eating Leaves" – Increase in Famines Around the World

The World Food Programme (WFP), a branch of the United Nations, reported on Monday that the number of people on the brink of famine in 43 countries has risen to 45 million, amid a surge in acute hunger globally. The program stated in a statement that the increase from 42 million earlier this year is largely due to a food security assessment that found an additional three million people facing famine in Afghanistan. The statement quoted WFP Executive Director David Beasley as saying, "Tens of millions of people are on the edge of the abyss. Conflicts, climate change, and COVID-19 are increasing the number of those suffering from acute hunger." He added, after a trip to Afghanistan where the WFP is increasing its support for around 23 million people, "The latest data shows that there are now more than 45 million people walking towards the brink of famine." Beasley noted that "fuel prices are rising, food prices are rising, and fertilizers have become more expensive, all of which fuel new crises such as the one unfolding in Afghanistan, as well as long-term emergencies like Yemen and Syria." The UN program explained that the cost of preventing famine globally is now seven billion dollars, compared to 6.6 billion dollars earlier in the year, warning that traditional funding sources have exceeded their capacities. The report highlighted that families facing severe food insecurity are forced to make "devastating choices" such as marrying off children early, pulling them out of school, or feeding them locusts, wild leaves, or cactus. It added, "In the meantime, media reports from Afghanistan indicate that families have been forced to sell their daughters in a desperate attempt to survive." Moreover, multiple droughts in Afghanistan, coinciding with economic collapse, have pushed families to the brink of hunger, while around 12.4 million people in Syria do not know where their next meal will come from, a number higher than at any time during the decade-long conflict. The agency noted "pockets" of famine in Madagascar, forcing residents to eat locusts, leaves, and cactus to survive. The agency based in Rome mentioned the rise in acute hunger in Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, Angola, Kenya, and Burundi.