Displaying items by tag: food crisis

In Merlo, long lines form outside communal soup kitchens as inflation soars, causing a hunger crisis among the country's poor. President Javier Milei's austerity measures, which have cut government spending, even funds for soup kitchens, have exacerbated the situation. It is estimated that soup kitchens and other similar groups now serve ten million people, out of Argentina's population of 46 million. However, advocates believe the actual number of food-insecure individuals could be higher due to informal hunger relief efforts in marginalised areas. Outrage is mounting, particularly after one minister promised to help the needy and then refused to meet the crowds outside her office the next day; instead she diverted funds to religious organisations. One social leader has criticised the government for failing to address hunger effectively, despite claiming to prioritise direct assistance.

‘Our efforts have been fruitless,’ said a Christian farmer in northern Kenya. ‘Wild animals are invading our farms and eating everything - hippos, elephants, buffaloes. Families have been struggling with nothing to eat.’ This is another problem added to the prolonged drought biting ever deeper. Crops fail, livestock perish, and the all-important water source, the Tana River, dwindles and dries up. Children in northern Kenya have already begun to die of hunger. Barnabas Aid is continuing to feed Christians in that area, where our fellow-believers are a minority and do not get help from the main aid agencies in the area. The rainy season, October to December, is forecast to be short and light across most of the country.

The UN secretary-general has warned that war in Ukraine, climate change, the pandemic and inequality have produced an ‘unprecedented global hunger crisis’ already affecting hundreds of millions of people. UK’s April inflation was the highest in forty years, food costs increased by nearly 9% and the number of foodbank users has doubled in the last year, but tonnes of produce have been ploughed back due to labour shortages. Jesus told us to pray collectively and daily for the Father to provide ‘our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11). Pray for leaders working to combat the global food crisis, for all who are suffering drought and hunger, and for ourselves to be generous and give (Psalm 37:21). The Bible emphasises our dependence on, and gratitude to, God for our daily bread, stewardship of the earth, and respect for one another. But our priorities easily become skewed in favour of selfish gain.

Six months ago, 93% of Venezuelans said their income was not sufficient to buy the food they need. 75% reported suffering weight loss, averaging 9 kg. The price of food is fifteen times the minimum wage, and prices continue to rise. The director of a Caracas-based health and nutrition charity said, ‘Malnutrition in Venezuela is a problem of corruption, not a lack of money’. Government price controls and other policies have crippled domestic production, and after the oil price drop caused imports to decrease dramatically, insufficient food is available for the over 30m Venezuelans. Meanwhile President Maduro’s efforts to consolidate power amid a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis have drawn widespread international condemnation. There are severe food and medicine shortages, soaring crime rates, and an increasingly authoritarian executive. 70% of the population is Roman Catholic and 29% percent Protestant. See

A missionary helping the 24 million people in East Africa dying of starvation has criticised the media for being so ‘distracted’ by Donald Trump that they're failing to notice the worst humanitarian crisis to hit the region since World War 2. Aid worker Paul Healy says that in his twenty years working with Trócaire, a charity set up by the Irish Catholic Church, he's never seen such devastation. ‘The scale of the crisis is enormous. There are 24 million people facing starvation over the coming months,’ he said. The UN has already declared a fully-fledged famine in parts of South Sudan, adding: ‘This means 20% of households face extreme food shortages, 30% of the population face acute malnourishment and there are 2 hunger-related deaths per 10,000 people per day.’. Also Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia will suffer mass death from food and water shortages if ‘prompt and sustained humanitarian intervention’ doesn't happen soon.