Worst Humanitarian Crisis since WWII

By Editor, The Daily Star, Bangladesh Reprint | | Print |

Mar 14 2017 - It is a matter of grave concern that, according to a UN estimate, twenty million people are facing starvation in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria. These are the conflict prone regions that have witnessed civil war, foreign invasion, a breakdown of civil order and the rise of militancy. We are appalled that this crisis, which has been built up over a period of time, has been allowed to continue. Clearly, enough has not been done, as a UN official told the Security Council, that without immediate help, death and severe malnutrition would plague the regions for a long time.

It is indeed disturbing to note that man-made disasters like war and famine continue to bleed nations while international politics fails to come to a consensus on how to reach a stasis in parts of the Middle East, Northeast Nigeria and vast swathes of Somalia. This is degenerating into a grave humanitarian crisis due to shortage of essential supplies like food, water and electricity. This is especially so in Yemen where two-thirds of the country’s population remains hungry and do not know where the next meal will come from. The situation is the same in the other three countries where without any collective and coordinated effort on the part of the global community thousands will simply starve to death and many more will die from disease.

We urge the international community to infuse immediate aid to these four war-torn and famine ravaged countries. Also, it is important to devise a long-term strategy to prevent further food shortages and outbreaks of the disease in the areas. It is indeed appalling that in this era of globalisation and scientific breakthroughs, fellow human beings should die of hunger and shortage of food. The shame is on us all. The world should act immediately.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh