UN chief warns conflict continues to drive hunger

ADDIS ABABA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that conflict has continued to drive hunger, as he urged the global community to "never accept" hunger as a weapon of war.

Guterres, addressing the Second UN Food Systems Summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in a video message, expressed concern over the lack of progress in realizing shared commitments in ensuring global food systems that are inclusive, sustainable, equitable, resilient, and rooted in human rights.

"Progress is not fast or fair enough. Global hunger is rising; trade shocks are pushing food prices out of reach; and one-third of the world's population cannot afford a healthy diet while one-third of the world's food is lost or wasted," he said.

Noting that the hidden cost of the global food system on health, nature, and human suffering exceeds 10 trillion U.S. dollars a year, which is more than three times that of the gross domestic product of Africa, the UN chief said the phenomenon "is not just a crisis of scarcity. It is a crisis of justice, equity, and climate."

He further warned that conflict has continued to drive hunger across different parts of the globe. "Conflict continues to drive hunger from Gaza to Sudan, and beyond. Hunger feeds further instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war," said Guterres.

The Second UN Food Systems Summit kicked off Monday under the theme "Harnessing a Changing World for the Future of Sustainable Food Systems."

The three-day high-level gathering convened political leaders across the world, heads of UN agencies, as well as the private sector and civil society to reaffirm shared responsibilities and collective action in addressing the challenges facing global food systems. Enditem