Credit: © WFP/Rein Skullerud
The United Nations is calling on member states to step up efforts to address hunger and conflict in Gaza, Sudan and Somalia, warning that humanitarian gains remain fragile and could quickly be reversed without sustained political and financial support.
The appeal came during a U.N. Security Council discussion on food insecurity and conflict, where officials urged countries to increase humanitarian funding, pursue political solutions to conflicts and take stronger action to prevent famine.
A U.N. official recalled visiting Gaza a year ago around the time famine was declared, describing widespread destruction and children searching for food amid the rubble.
A return visit in January, following an October ceasefire and the adoption of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803 in November, showed some improvement in food security and the reversal of famine conditions, the official said.
The visit also offered signs of hope. One displaced family had returned to a destroyed home in southern Gaza City and was working to restore a vineyard amid the rubble as part of efforts to rebuild its livelihood and preserve a family tradition.
Teenage girls receiving World Food Programme assistance at a UNICEF-run makeshift school also spoke of their ambitions to become doctors, pilots and business owners.
But the gains remain fragile, with recovery and reconstruction still a long way off, the official said.
“We simply can’t fail the people of Gaza again, just when conditions are starting to improve,” the official told the council.
The official also urged the international community not to reduce humanitarian operations in Sudan after access has improved, and warned against waiting for famine to unfold in Somalia.
“We can’t pull back in Sudan just as we secure access for scaling up,” the official said. “And we can’t disengage in Somalia and wait for famine to unfold.”
The official said the Security Council has previously demonstrated that it can help break the cycle linking hunger and conflict.
The meeting was described as an opportunity for renewed international action to help hundreds of millions of people move away from hunger and violence toward peace and stability.
