The Ukraine war and blocked shipments of millions of tons of grain have drastically increased the risk of famine. The US wants to take countermeasures.
US President Joe Biden pledged $2.9 billion in additional aid.
(dpa) The US government wants to provide more billions in aid to mitigate the food crisis in the world. US President Joe Biden promised aid of more than 2.9 billion US dollars (around 2.8 billion Swiss francs) during his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. According to the White House, the new funds add to the $6.9 billion that the US government has already provided this year to support global food security.
The effects of the corona pandemic, the climate crisis, rising energy prices and conflicts – above all the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine – had interrupted global supply chains and caused global food prices to rise drastically. The Ukraine war and blocked shipments of millions of tons of grain have further increased the risk of famine in the Horn of Africa. According to the United Nations, especially in Somalia, millions of people are at risk of starvation because of an unprecedented drought.
Biden called for the United Nations-brokered grain deal to be extended between Russia and Ukraine. The deal signed at the end of July is valid for four months. In it, Russia pledged not to block the export of millions of tons of grain from Ukraine across the Black Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently threatened to scrap what was the most important agreement between the warring parties to date.
Biden accused Russia of justifying the food crisis with the sanctions imposed on Moscow because of the Ukraine war. That is wrong. “Our sanctions expressly allow Russia to export food and fertilizer without restrictions,” the US President said. “It is Russia’s war that is making food insecurity worse.”