Oxfam appeals for funds: 'Nearly a billion people face starvation'

Straits Times 17 Oct 08;

LONDON: Oxfam launched an urgent appeal to mark UN World Food Day yesterday, saying that even as hundreds of billions of dollars were being directed to tackle the financial crisis, the number of people worldwide facing starvation has risen to nearly one billion.

'Rich countries are directing their attention to high fuel prices and turmoil in the financial sector, but the number of malnourished people in the world rose by 44 million in 2008,' the British-based international aid charity said.

'Nearly one billion people are now going hungry. When you consider the speed of the world's response to the credit crisis, the delay in acting is shocking.'

Oxfam said it needed an extra US$26.2 million (S$38.8 million) for its humanitarian work, a sum that is paltry compared to the billions made available in days to bail out Western banks.

It also noted that five months after countries promised to give more than US$12 billion to address the global food emergency, under US$1 billion has been given.

'These are tough times for many of us, but huge increases in food prices mean that the world's poorest are being hit hardest,' said Oxfam chief executive Barbara Stocking.

The charity said higher food prices meant people were eating less and lower quality food, while children were being pulled out of school and farmers were migrating to city slums.

The Oxfam report contrasts the global food crisis with the huge profits being made by the farm and food companies, the Guardian reported.

'The trend in agriculture, as in international finance, has been towards deregulation and a reduced role for the state,' Ms Stocking said. 'It is time the world woke up to the need for developing country governments to support their poor farmers, and the obligation of developed countries to help them to do so.'

In a global opinion poll released on the eve of World Food Day, Britain's BBC World Service reported that almost two-thirds of people surveyed in the Philippines, Panama, Kenya and Nigeria say they are now eating less because of the rise in food prices.

While world grain prices have been tumbling back down the steep slope they climbed early this year, food bills from London to Manila remain 9 per cent to 16 per cent higher than a year ago, according to the latest national reports.

And experts worry that the wild swings may turn uphill again.

The global financial crisis 'puts us in a precarious position', said United Nations' food economist Abdolreza Abbassian, who fears farmers frustrated by falling prices and credit shortages will plant less.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS


Food crisis billions failing to arrive, warn reports
Groups contrast the speedy global response to the financial crisis with the 'shocking' delay in responding to food shortages in the developing world
John Vidal, guardian.co.uk 16 Oct 08;

Two Ugandan women drag sacks of food relief. Photograph: Walter Astrada/AFP/Getty Images

Five months after countries pledged to give more than $12bn to address the global food emergency, less than $1bn has been delivered, says Oxfam. In a report to coincide with World Food day, the international agency berates rich countries for failing to respond speedily or adequately to soaring food and fuel prices.

"Rich countries are directing their attention to high fuel prices and turmoil in the financial sector but the number of malnourished people in the world rose by 44 million people in 2008. Nearly one billion people are now going hungry. When you consider the speed of the world's response to the credit crisis, the delay in acting is shocking", said an Oxfam spokesman.

In a separate report, Care International said that at least 6.4 million people in Ethiopia now need emergency food aid and that Somalia is facing a food crisis "unseen since the famine of the early 1990s".

"Drought, conflict, and rising food prices have left more than 17 million people in the Horn of Africa sliding into a full-blown humanitarian crisis. These countries are heading into the peak hunger season when cereal prices are at their highest, and families have no stocks left from the previous harvest", said Jonathan Mitchell, Care's emergency director.

The Oxfam report says that while staple food prices have come down since their peak in July, they remain stuck at levels far higher than the long-term average. "This is not a fleeting crisis."

Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam GB, said: "It is shocking that the international community has failed to organise itself to respond adequately to this. The UN taskforce produced a good plan – the Comprehensive Framework for Action – but there is still not clear leadership to implement it."

She added: "Developing countries are being bombarded with different initiatives and asked to produce multiple plans for different donors. We need to see one coordinated international response, led by the UN, which channels funds urgently to those in need, and leads on implementation of the longer-term reforms".

The Oxfam report contrasts the global food crisis with the record profits being made by the world's largest agribusiness and seed companies. "[US food company] Bunge saw its profits increase by $583m (£333m) between April and July, Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods is forecasting a 237% increase in sales, Nestlé's global sales rose 8.9% January to June and Tesco has reported profits up 10% on last year. France's Carrefour and Wal-Mart in the US say that food sales are the main factor sustaining their increases in profits".

The world's largest seed companies have all seen profits grow by over 25% in the second quarter of 2008.

However, poor countries have also failed to come up with adequate answers to food price rises, says the report. Many countries responded by banning rice exports. But this, says the report, resulted in only limited curbs on inflation and has contributed to a shortage of supplies on the world market.

Other countries have forced controls on markets or slashed import tariffs, but this could pose serious future threats to infant industries and paralysis of the food supply chain.

Oxfam recommends that poor countries invest more in agriculture and protect small-scale producers. It urges rich countries to stop pressing for rapid liberalisation of poor countries' economies in trade negotiations and global agreements.

"The food crisis and the fate of 17 million people in Africa is being pushed down the list of priorities. Add to this the global financial crisis, and things could hardly be any worse. The perfect storm just got more perfect", said Mitchell.