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| © UNICEF/HQ99-0619/Giacomo Pirozzi | |
As we work to get a sense of the full extent of damage from the cyclone in Myanmar, we're also continuing to stay on top of news connected to the food crisis. And the news in that department is not good.
Food prices have increased so much, so quickly that in countries like Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt, Somalia, among others, people have been protesting and even rioting to convey the full extent of their hunger. A recent article in the New York Times quoted a Haitian man, Saint Louis Meriska, describing what it means to have no food to give his children. "They look at me and say, 'Papa, I’m hungry,' and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry."
The anger Saint Louis Meriska feels over not being able to feed his kids is being experienced by millions of others like him all around the globe. Even the U.S. military is concerned over the worldwide unrest stemming from the food crisis and has begun conducting its own investigation into the crisis, which, it worries, could become a potential "defense issue." In Afghanistan, the 75 percent increase in the cost of wheat flour has fueled widespread anger against the U.S.-backed government there, raising fears that the food crisis may actually be boosting recruitment for the Taliban insurgency.
There are myriad other indirect consequences of the food crisis; so many of them just devastating to children (as if being chronically hungry wasn't bad enough). UNICEF worries about children no longer attending school because their parents need them to work in fields, help make money, or scavenge for food. Also, many countries require nominal school fees in order for children to attend—fees which, no matter how small, will soon become unaffordable to hungry families. In parts of the world, free school food programs are being discontinued, and we know from past experience that this means many poor children will stay home.
Hungry children who do find ways to continue their education will still suffer consequences of malnutrition or food insecurity. A study performed in 2005 showed that food insecurity directly impacts children’s ability to develop social skills and to learn academically; over time, children with food insecurity were shown to actually have smaller increases in math and reading skills. In other words, a whole generation of young children could be affected, in one way or another, by the crisis.
UNICEF is working with our partner, the World Food Program, to get food to children in need. And, as mentioned in my previous post about nutrition, we are experts at dealing with malnourished children. But we'll need a lot of help to see this crisis through. And we could really use yours.
