Urgent action is needed in Somalia with the threat of famine looming large amid the country's worst drought in 40 years, a World Food Programme official has said.
Nearly eight million people have been impacted — and more than a million of those displaced — during a crisis worsened by the effects of the war in Ukraine.
Ahead of World Food Day on Sunday, Mageed Yahia, WFP representative to the GCC region, said support from the internationally community was desperately needed.
“This drought is serious. Somalia is the hardest hit country in the Horn of Africa,” he said during a WFP event in Dubai.
“We have a good response so far from our partners, but we now need urgently to avert a famine.
“In the past, with the help of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, we averted a famine in Yemen in 2018. Today, we need to do the same thing before it’s too late.”
Famine is an extreme scarcity of food that leads to starvation or malnutrition, combined with diseases.
The region has experienced several climate-fuelled droughts over the years, but the situation is worse this time because of the effects from the war in Ukraine.
Somalia sourced at least 90 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine before the war.
And the country is also suffering from a shortage of humanitarian aid as international donors focus on Europe.
United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said last month that he was “shocked” to see the situation in Somalia.
“Ukraine has occupied the narrative,” he said.
Food insecurity due to conflicts and climate change
Mr Yahia said food insecurity in many different parts of the world was worsening due to conflicts and climate change.
He said that about 345 million people globally are suffering from hunger.
The world is also seeing a significant food price increase because of the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine together used to import more than a quarter of the world’s wheat supply, feeding billions of people.
“I wish we could really celebrate Food Day and a world that had enough and easy access to food, but, unfortunately, the situation has continued to deteriorate,” said Mr Yahia.
“Two main factors, of course, are driving the food insecurity around the world. One of them is complex armed conflicts, which continue to drive people out of their livelihood and their homes.
“Climate shock is becoming equally important factor in the food security sector… It’s driving millions of people out of their homes like we are seeing now in the Horn of Africa, the floods in Pakistan and the hurricanes in Latin and Central America and Cuba.”
These past few months, Pakistan experienced its worst floods in history from a catastrophic monsoon season.
More than 33 million people were affected and more than 1,500 killed across the country.
In Cuba, Florida and South Carolina, there were power outages and severe flooding caused by Hurricane Ian.
Mr Yahia said there is enough food in the world, but the problem was “lack of access”. He said there needs to be political will by leaders around the world to help the needy.
He said that the UAE continues to a play an important role in helping the WFP's initiatives in different countries.
“UAE is one of the largest donors of the programme for years now with contribution coming from the government and the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives, which has helped us this year in six to eight countries in Africa and Asia,” he said.
“This year alone, we have received $60 million for our production in Ethiopia, and we are receiving now $40 million dollars from the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives.”
UAE's food security drive
The UAE has sought to bolster its food and water security in recent years by prioritising local produce and embracing technology to address challenges posed by the country's dry climate.
Essa Alhashmi, head at the UAE Food Security Office, said the country is being pro-active over the key issue.
“We had several discussions with international stakeholders and had some bilateral treaties including the comprehensive economic agreement, for example with India,” he said.
“This enabled us to access some of those commodities that were difficult to either access or saw price hikes, such as wheat.”
He said that the UAE has also seen an impact from climate change, including in food production and sustaining natural resources like water.
“60 per cent of water consumed here in the UAE is driven by agriculture, yet the contribution of that to the food security and economical growth is very limited,” said Mr Alhashmi.
“So, the first thing we looked in the agenda for combating food insecurity is the fact that this food system needs to be modernised and it needs also to be sustainable.
“We are looking at aspects of enhancing as well as reducing water usage and where we can reuse the waste generated from the agriculture industry.”
He said the UAE has made many strides in increasing food security, with many bio farms that are set up across the country and significantly reducing its food waste.
He said the food waste figures used to be 137 kilograms per capita, which is now reduced to about 95 kgs per capita.
“I would say that Covid-19 played a significant role in that because people became more cautious, and we need to build on that,” said Mr Alhashmi.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
RESULT
Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.