Hunger kills more people nowadays than conflicts, including terrorism, the Director-General for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned.
José Graziano da Silva made the remarks in New York ahead of a special meeting organized by the UN peacebuilding commission.
He delivered a presentation on food security and peacebuilding on Monday.
FAO’s annual flagship report on the State of Food Insecurity in the World in 2014 found that world hunger continues to fall, but 805 million people are still chronically undernourished.
The food security crisis that derives from conflicts is often protracted and not easy to solve, said Mr Graziano.
Furthermore, children and their mothers are the most affected although it’s the women who feed the families, he added.
“The message is very clear: hunger kills more people nowadays than conflicts, including terrorism. So if we really want to achieve peace, we really need to look also for food security.”
Food aid is the first step for relief, he noted, but recovery takes a long time and it needs investments.
SOURCE: Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations
