Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have a spillover effect on non-conflict populations. Experts warn, especially in the world’s food supply.
The war in Ukraine is millions if governments, donors and funders do not now act to prevent a shortage of nutrients normally exported from the region, according to an editorial published in Nature on Thursday. May lead to malnutrition.
Women and children in low- and middle-income countries are particularly vulnerable, according to an editorial written by 10 nutrition and food supply experts around the world. Children’s nutritional needs are high relative to their size, and pregnant and lactating women’s nutritional needs are particularly high.
“The effects of malnutrition may not be as immediate as the effects of hunger, but if left untreated, they can be irreversible for multiple generations,” the author writes.
Saskia Osendarp, Managing Director of the Micronutrients Forum and coordinator of the Standing Together for Nutrition, a consortium of experts in nutrition, economics, food and health systems, said that the biggest concern is the long-term effects of malnutrition on children. Told ABC News. .. This could include cognitive development, school performance, and increased risk of social capital and chronic illness in later years, she said.
Undernourishment can have “irreversible and lifelong consequences,” especially if it begins in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, starting with conception and lasting until the child’s second birthday, Osendarp said. increase.
According to experts, existing gender inequality and power imbalances are often exacerbated during a crisis, resulting in less authority for women to devote resources to feed themselves and their children. .. According to experts, rising prices, reduced availability of food, or difficulty in accessing food directly affect the quality of people’s diets, and rising prices and trade problems lead to acute malnutrition. It will narrow the scope of humanitarian services to prevent and treat.
As food prices rise, households switch to cheaper staple and processed foods instead of buying more nutritious, generally more expensive foods such as fruits, vegetables and dairy products, and the quality of their diet. Decreases. The author said.
“So they may be able to cope and keep their calorie intake at a certain level up to a certain point, but then they will suffer from undernourishment,” she said.
Moreover, according to editorials, the budget currently being spent on improving people’s nutritional status could be directed to other, more urgent needs as a result of the war.
The World Food Program estimates that in 2022, 323 million people will be in urgent need of assistance in obtaining adequate food and nutrients.
Ukraine is considered one of the world’s breadbaskets and is the world’s top 10 exporter of many major agricultural products such as wheat, barley, corn, sunflower oil, soybeans and chicken. An estimated 70% of the country is used for agricultural land, which is currently devastated by Russian troops assault.
Africa and the Middle East are particularly vulnerable, according to a quick assessment by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, but Somalia and Benin are largely dependent on Russia and Ukraine for wheat imports. Some countries depend on Russia and Ukraine for more than half of their wheat imports.
According to the newspaper, the number of malnourished people, especially women and children, is expected to increase as a result of record highs and turmoil in food, fertilizer and fuel trade.
According to USAID, cities such as Odesa and Mariupol, where about 70% of Ukraine’s exports are moving, are currently blocked due to the constant bombardment of Russia.
This is not an isolated crisis, Osendarp said. Two years after the pandemic, the government still has global economic stressors for the virus, climate change-related events such as the severe drought in the Horn of Africa, and other areas devastated by the war. We are recovering from the increase in conflicts in Africa. As Ethiopia and in Yemen, she said.
The authors called for the suspension of trade restrictions that affect access to nutrition and the use of social safeguards such as food and cash remittances specially tailored to combat malnutrition. They said there is also a need to protect the financial commitments already made to nutrition both domestically and globally, and to increase investment in humanitarian resources beyond the promises already made.
Without immediate humanitarian action, it is almost certain that the number of malnourished children and mothers will increase and affect the next generation, Osenderp said.
“It will affect millions of mothers and children, and we can’t just lose that generation,” she said.
Guy Davies and Dragana Jovanovic of ABC News contributed to this report.
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