BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 9 — The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) fears a current food crisis in the Middle East could further destabilise the region, reported German news agency dpa.
Five countries in the region are experiencing food inflation rates beyond 60 per cent, some in the triple digits, Corinne Fleischer, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East said.
“When food becomes unaffordable, the result is hunger,” the statement on Monday (May 8) evening said.
The great dependence on imports and the climate crisis further exacerbate this development.
Food for the region is bought at high prices as the region itself does not produce enough, WFP said.
Meanwhile, droughts, heat waves, forest fires and floods were destroying the scarce arable land for food. All these have led to ‘an unprecedented decline that could drag millions of people into the abyss,’ Fleischer said.
Lebanon is suffering most under these conditions, with the small Mediterranean country at the top of the list of the world’s ten most affected countries by food inflation, the World Bank noted in a report in April.
In Syria half the population is suffering under these conditions, the WFP report said on Monday.
— Bernama
