Food security is an urgent global issue

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a statement Sunday on World Food Day, stressing that “food systems and global food security are at a critical moment.”

The Secretary of State noted that the combined effects of the global pandemic, growing pressures of the climate crisis, high energy and fertilizer prices, and armed conflicts, including Russia’s war against Ukraine, have disrupted production and supply chains and led to a dramatic decline in global food security, especially for the most vulnerable populations.

Blinken stated that more than 190 million people will be in acute food insecurity in early 2022. A war in Ukraine could add another 70 million people to this number.

Earlier this year, the U.S. chaired the U.N. Food Security Summit, which adopted the Roadmap for Global Food Security. More than 100 countries supported the initiative to increase fertilizer production and investment in climate-resilient agriculture.

Last month at the U.N. General Assembly, President Joe Biden announced more than $2.9 billion in new aid to address global food insecurity, on top of the $6.9 billion already allocated this year to support global food security.

“No one is left in doubt that food security is an issue of urgency around the world,” Blinken said in a statement posted on the State Department’s website. – “So on this World Food Day, we must be true to its mission statement, ‘Leave No One Behind,’ because the health, stability and well-being of us all depend on the food security we create together.”