The UN chief raises the alarm: War threatens an unprecedented famine wave, affecting 1.6 billion people

The negative consequences of Ukraine's Russian occupation are worsening, affecting 1.6 billion people, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned.

“The impact of combat on food safety, energy and finances is systematic, heavy and accelerated,” he said.

For people worldwide, war threatens to release an unprecedented wave of hunger and misery, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake. ”

According to Guterres, if this year's “food crisis is linked to the lack of access” to food, the next “may be a food shortage issue”.

The UN chief insisted that the only way to stop the storm “is that Ukraine's “Russian invasion should stop“, referring to ongoing negotiations for unlocking Ukrainian wheat, the AFP wrote.

According to a UN report, “94 countries -- home to approximately 1.6 billion people -- are seriously exposed to at least one dimension of the financial, food or energy crisis -- and are unable to afford it”.

From these 1.6 billion, 1.2 billion or three quarters live in countries that are too exposed and vulnerable at the same time to the three dimensions”. Next, “no country or community will be spared from this life cost crisis”, the document says.

To alleviate the crisis, <x0 need to make concrete efforts to ensure that essential food and energy supplies reach the most vulnerable“, the report argues.