Food Crisis May Bring Displacement: UN

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations refugee chief, warned of the results of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukrainian territory, which is currently affecting several countries across the globe. The official explained that the resulting food crisis could sharpen numbers of global displacements to new records.

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According to Grandi, it is “of paramount importance... to prevent a larger number of people moving” to address efforts to solve the food insecurity crisis, highlighting that the Russian special military operation has aggravated it in Ukraine. “If you ask me how many... I don’t know, but it will be pretty big numbers,” he said.

After the beginning of the Russian operation in his neighboring country, grain and fertilizer shortages have increased, sharping prices globally. Consequently, hundreds of millions of people were at risk from hunger. “The impact, if this is not resolved quickly, would be devastating,” said the UN official. “It is already devastating.”

The statements were made during the UNHCR refugee agency’s annual report on global displacement, where the data indicated a record of 89.3 million people displaced at the end of 2021, twice higher as a decade before. Since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, the global displacement recorded more than 100 million for the first time.

The UN refugee chief highlighted that “every year of the last decade, the numbers have climbed,” adding that “either the international community comes together to take action to address this human tragedy, resolve conflicts and find lasting solutions or this terrible trend will continue.”