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Home , Famine, Food prices, Hunger

Fact Sheet July 2019

“To remain silent is to be complicit. We as Presbyterians must speak out.”

—Resolution to Advocate for the of All Citizens of , approved by the 223rd General Assembly, 2018 Photo: Hope Restoration South

WHAT IS FAMINE?______extreme shortages, 30 percent of the Famine is fundamentally “a crisis of mass population faces acute malnourishment and that causes many people to die over there are at least 2 hunger-related a specific period of time.”i The difference per 10,000 people per day.iii between chronic hunger/ and famine is that with famine there is a When famine has been declared in an area, dramatic increase in hunger over time and it means that people have been it impacts a large number of people in a undernourished for some time, people have particular area.ii been dying and continue to die from or illnesses due to compromised Internationally, organizations use a system immune systems, and children are called “Integration Phase from short and long-term harms of acute Classification” (or IPC) to determine the malnutrition such as stunting, disease and level of food insecurity in a specific area. .iv IPC will indicate that an area has reached the Phase 5 level of food insecurity (famine) when 20 percent of households are facing DRIVERS OF FAMINE______incomes are lower and government investments in and services Myths are low compared to wealthier countries. One of the main untruths that people Countries are poor for many reasons believe about famine is that it is merely a including , authoritarian case of overpopulation and food shortage. governments, developing-world debt, The world’s population has increased from imbalanced trade, etc. So when , around 1 billion in 1860 to 7 billion today, political instability, or conflict is present, a but famine deaths have decreased over time country’s economy can suffer from a lack of while the per capita food supply has investment and a devaluation of local increased.v Often in , food may be currency, which can then translate into available, but people may not be able to increased and reduced incomes. access food for various reasons including Poor people already spend a high high prices, displacement, and a breakdown percentage of their incomes on food, so they in transportation and . are particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in Another untruth is that famine is a natural food prices. The combination of increased . Today it is primarily a man-made food prices and reduced incomes creates a disaster, in the sense that political decisions situation where poor people cannot afford and policies, as well as conflict tend to be te to buy food or the inputs for food main drivers of today’s famines. production.

Climate Change or Drought “When armies march, change and warming temperatures present a challenge for food security and there is no .” access to safe drinking . Variability in —Maxime Rafransoa patterns is already leading to All Council of Churches, 1985 unpredictability in yields, especially in regions that depend on rainfed . The Food and Agriculture Organization Conflicts and found that climate variability and extremes Sixty percent of the world’s hungry people are among the leading causes of recent live in countries that are affected by increases in global hunger and severe food vii conflict.vi Most famines are crises. When it comes to famine, drought characterized by violent conflict and war. plays a role in the crisis, but the government Conflicts lead to displacement from the land response or lack of response is really what and livelihoods, disruption of food determines whether or not drought leads to production and distribution, and trauma. famine. In order for famine to occur, not Often food is used as a weapon of war. Food only would food availability have to be supplies can be withheld, or its limited but also access to other , transportation can be blocked. Food and the including imported foods or even access to means for producing food are frequently humanitarian assistance, would have to be destroyed in today’s conflicts, guaranteeing limited as well. years of food insecurity long after the conflict has ended. Violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law Since poverty is the number one cause of Under international humanitarian law, world hunger, it shouldn’t be any surprise there are protections which guard against that it is a driver of famine. In fact, famine the starvation - deprivation of food, water tends to occur in poorer countries where and basic survival necessities - of civilians during armed conflicts.viii It is prohibited to child suffering from severe acute use starvation as a method of warfare, malnutrition is 9 times more likely to die of destroy and necessity goods, disease than a well-nourished child.xiii appropriate or destroy objects essential to Malnourishment leaves people with the survival of civilians, and obstruct access weakened immune systems and susceptible of humanitarian for civilians during to disease and death. Diseases that are quite armed conflict.ix The , meaning common in famine situations are , “a right to all nutritional elements that a cholera, anemia, measles, pneumonia and person needs to live a healthy and active . life, and to the means to access them”, is recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.x The “We shall encourage those majority of today’s famines are taking place programs which combat hunger because of political decisions made by state through integrated actors that violate international development and humanitarian and human rights laws. empowerment of people, both Farms, homes and livelihoods have been in this country and throughout destroyed. Humanitarian assistance has the world . . . we shall be been delayed and blocked. Governments advocates in the centers of have failed to respond when all the signs of political and economic power, famine were on the horizon. supporting policy changes which will provide food for poor and hungry people... that empower REALITIES OF FAMINE______their self-development, and that Food Insecurity enable them and us by just and The most extreme form of food insecurity is peaceful means to be free from famine. The World Health Organization oppressive unjust systems that says that in order for there to be food fail to meet basic needs.” security, food has to be available, accessible and useable. During times of conflict, food —Common Affirmation on production is often interrupted when people Global Hunger, amended by the are forced to flee violence. War also 203rd General Assembly, 1991 damages distribution channels for getting food to and makes it unsafe for people to visit markets. Drought and Starvation and Death flooding can pose problems to food The most extreme form of malnutrition is availability by damaging and limiting starvation. When famine is declared, production. Food price sets in starvation is already a reality, but starvation when food availability becomes stressed, among small groups or individuals is not which makes it harder for people to pay for famine – starvation must impact a large food, especially when their livelihoods have number of people for it to be considered been destroyed. When famine is declared, famine. Starvation is a process that happens 1 in every 5 households faces extreme lack of when a person’s caloric energy intake is well food.xi below their expenditure of caloric energy. Starvation is a very painful and drawn out Malnutrition and Disease death. The body initiates processes to When famine is declared, acute prolong life - depleting glucose and malnutrition () is greater than 30 reserves and then attacking muscle . percent, which is when people are If a healthy adult has access to water, they for their height due to not can live for up to a couple of months under having enough nutritious food to eat.xii A starvation conditions before they die. Displacement and Migration According to the U.N. , as food insecurity increases, for “Truly I tell you, just each one percentage point increase in food as you did it to one insecurity, 19 people out of every 1000 will choose to migrate, and when there is of the least of these

conflict at the same time, the migration who are members of numbers grow by 4 people per 1000

multiplied by each year of conflict.xiv Most my family, you did it people who are faced with severe food to me.” insecurity have limited resources and will —Matthew 25:40 often flee to the nearest city, neighboring country or camp in search of safety and assistance. Once people are displaced they are cut off from their livelihoods and abilities to generate income, they become dependent on humanitarian assistance and can place heavy burdens on the limited resources of host communities and Learn more, take action, and give at countries. www.pcusa.org/phpfamine.

i De Waal, Alex. 2018. Mass Starvation: The History ix Médecins Sans Frontières. “The Practical Guide to and Future of Famine (p.17). Medford, MA: Polity Humanitarian Law.” Accessed May 20, 2019. Press. x OHCHR. 2010. “Fact Sheet No. 34: ‘The Right to ii Ibid. Adequate Food.’” iii World Hunger Education Service. 2017. Hunger xi FEWS NET. “Integrated Phase Classification.” Notes. Accessed May 15, 2019. iv Bread for the World. 2017. Fact Sheet: xii Ibid. During Famines. xiii UN NEWS. 2017. “As famine looms, malnutrition vHasel, Joe. 2018. Our World in Data. “Does and disease rise sharply among Somali children – lead to hunger and famine?” UNICEF.” vi World Food Program. 2018. Hunger & Conflict Fact xiv World Food Programme. 2017. “New WFP Report Sheet: Saving Lives, Changing Lives. Finds Food Insecurity Accelerates Global Migration.” viiFAO. 2018. “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World: Building Climate Resilience *Photo on this page by PHP partner Generations for Food Security and Nutrition.” Without Qat, Yemen. viii Office of the High Commissioner. 2017. “International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law Relevant to Siege Warfare.”