World Food Prize Laureates Call for Continued Anti-Hunger Funding
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
The world is living in the most conflict-affected time since 1975 according to the Uppsala Data Conflict program. At the World Food Prize, David Beckmann a 2010 Laureate and Coordinator of Circle of Protection, points to wars in Ukraine, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Beckmann… “We have already over recent years, the number of people who die every year from conflict is going up.”
That impact is seen through food. The number of the people suffering from the most acute forms of food insecurity has more than doubled since 2019 going from 145 million to 345 million. Beckmann says war disrupts agriculture.
Beckmann… “It’s very hard to farm if you can’t get out to your farm because it’s dangerous out there.”
Beckmann along with ten other laureates joined together at The World Food Prize to ask the U.S. to support anti-hunger efforts.
Beckmann… “Not stinting on the relatively small amount of money that we spend on food assistance and agriculture in the poorest countries. Worldwide, the number of people in absolute poverty has recovered from 2019 - it’s lower than it was in 2019. Where we really have a crisis is in some of the poorest countries where there is conflict.”
With the legacy of World Food Prize founder Norman Borlaug proclaiming a human right to eat, the laureates warn neglecting misery often breeds even more violence.
