The
Russian invasion of Ukraine might seem like a world away for some
people—out of sight, out of mind and not their problem.
However, in an intermeshed and interconnected world, we should take
note and be very concerned. The situation in Ukraine is affecting the
world’s food supply, with the threat of a grain shortage that
could cripple countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East that
depend on Russia and Ukraine for their wheat.
Ukraine
and Russia are the breadbasket
of Europe and the world, accounting for 12 percent of all global food
exports, nearly 30 percent of global wheat exports, 20 percent of
corn, and over 80 percent of sunflower oil. Wheat exports from Russia
and Ukraine will drop by an estimated 7
million metric tons
this year.
Ukraine
has banned
exports of barley, rye, oats and millet, and its farmers have left
the fields to take up arms, while the West has imposed an
international ban on Russian products. To make matters even worse,
the attack on Ukraine also threatens the production of fertilizer,
as Russia manufactures key ingredients for fertilizer, and prices
were already on the rise because of increasing oil prices.
Many
countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia—some already
facing hunger, economic instability and a humanitarian
crisis—rely
on Russia and Ukraine for their food needs. The invasion of Ukraine
will result in rising food prices and a food shortage in these
countries, aggravating a global hunger crisis that was severe even
before the Russian attack. And food insecurity can contribute to more
social
unrest
in a given nation, impacting
conflicts and the escalation of violence.
The
African
countries
of Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan receive nearly all their wheat
from Russia and Ukraine. The
Tigray crisis in Ethiopia
already created famine, and political instability and climate change
in Somalia has displaced 3 million people.
Yemen
imports most of its food and relies on Ukraine for half of its wheat,
while Lebanon imports 60 percent of its wheat from Ukraine and has a
mere one-month reserve. Egypt depends on Russia for 85 percent of its
wheat and 73 percent of its sunflower oil. Other countries
such as Bangladesh, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine,
Tunisia, and Turkey heavily depend on wheat exports from the two
Eastern European nations.
According
to the U.N. World Food Programme,
the number of people on the brink of famine has increased from 27
million in 2019 to 44 million today. David Beasley, the head of the
World Food Programme, said that before the invasion, the number of
people facing severe
hunger
worldwide soared from 80 million to
276 million
in four years due to the “perfect storm” of conflict,
climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While
you’re focused on Ukraine, please don’t neglect the
Sahel, please don’t neglect Syria and Jordan, Lebanon. If you
do, the consequences will be catastrophic,” said Michael
Fakhri,
the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food. “Without food
security, you’re not going to have peace. It’s just that
simple.” Fakhri urged countries to work together to meet the
nutritional needs of vulnerable people such as children, refugees,
older people and those with disabilities, and not weaponize food to
drive people into hunger. “Is it fair for us to take food from
children in Ethiopia to give to the children in Ukraine? No,”
he added.
Some
in the Black community will say this is a white folks’ war, a
case of white-on-white crime. From the bombings of Black Wall Street,
the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and MOVE to the more recent
bombings of Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Gaza, Afghanistan, Iraq and
others, we know that when violence is unleashed on more melanated
nations and communities, the world hardly pays attention. This is
true.
In
this century, at least, the world is not used to a European nation
being attacked like an African, Latin American or Arab country, which
is what Russia is doing to Ukraine today. Europe has not experienced
the sight of millions of European refugees in decades. Although these
crimes against humanity are taking place in Europe, that does not
mean the atrocities will not reverberate around the world and impact
the lives of Black and brown people around the globe.
People
are hurting and dying over this war in Ukraine. And the violence is
traveling to Africa and elsewhere, and many people will suffer there
as well. Russia’s war is devastating to the people of
Ukraine—with the hunger and displacement it has caused—but
this will almost certainly lead to famine-ravaged refugees in Africa
if the world community does not intervene.
