© 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, describe 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.

We’ve mentioned tetanus a few times in recent blog posts (like here and here) and I thought I’d briefly explain just why tetanus is such a big deal for us. In the U.S., we’re routinely vaccinated against tetanus as kids, and we generally don’t have to worry about it unless we have an accident that makes us vulnerable