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	Global hunger remains unacceptably high by Reena Ghelan UN Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, agencies   Aug. 2023   We are now halfway through a year marked by large, sudden-onset emergencies, including the Turkiye-Syria earthquake and the crisis in Sudan. Despite these crises contributing to the growing needs globally, humanitarian appeals were only 21 per cent funded by mid-July, a situation similar to last year’s when funding gaps hit communities affected by food crises, notably in the Horn of Africa.   In addition, the United Nations Secretary General has warned that hundred of millions facing hunger will pay the price following the recent decision by the Russian Federation to terminate the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative. He further said that the Initiative, “has been a lifeline for global food security in a troubled world”.   For many, the past few months have also served as a wake-up call about the climate emergency. People choked through wildfires’ smoke in Northern America, while communities in South Asia suffered through yet another historic heatwave. At a time when global hunger remains unacceptably high – as evidenced by the recent report on the State of the Food Security and Nutrition 2023 - it is urgent to act on climate, as one of the drivers, if we want to reach the global goal of zero hunger by 2030.   Vulnerable countries are not only hit hard by the climate emergency but also by the debt crisis. UNCTAD’s recently published report showed that debt servicing is more unsustainable and expensive for low-income countries. These countries face the impossible choice of servicing their debt or serving their people. Contingency financing and debt restructuring are essential to help countries in crises strengthen sustainable food security.   And yet, amid this grim picture we are seeing glimmers of hope. From Niger to Somalia, women-led organizations are taking the lead in spearheading innovation. Local organizations are building climate resilience on the frontlines. They demonstrate the need for development and humanitarian partners to support change and communities to fight and prevent famine.   The numbers of people facing emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 4) and of countries with populations facing catastrophic conditions (IPC/CH Phase 5) have been increasing almost steadily since 2016.   According to the latest famine and protracted IPC/CH Emergency analysis produced by the Global Network Against Food Crises, the most severe levels of acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition are found in parts of Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. Too often, these levels have been sustained for a prolonged period.   Over 10.3 million people in these areas are in Emergency (IPC/CH Phase 4), and 129,000 people are in Catastrophe (IPC/CH Phase 5) as of June 2023. Immediate action is critical in order to save lives and protect livelihoods, and prevent further deterioration into catastrophic conditions.   Focus on the Sahel and the Horn of Africa   Over 55 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda were acutely food insecure (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) last year, according to the latest IGAD Regional Focus report. Food crises are forecasted to escalate across the region in 2023, particularly in Kenya and Somalia. The worsening situation is attributed to the compounding effects of multiple shocks, including climate extremes and disasters, conflict and insecurity, and economic shocks. The impact of the conflict in Sudan is likely to further deteriorate the regional food crisis situation.   The food crisis in West Africa and the Sahel is also alarming. The CILSS Regional Focus report highlights that over 28 million people in 13 countries faced acute food and nutrition insecurity between March and May 2023. These represent the highest levels of acute hunger since the first Cadre Harmonise analysis in 2013. Projections for 2023 paint a grim picture. Up to 41.47 million people in 16 countries are expected to be acutely food insecure and need humanitarian assistance during the June–August 2023 lean season. Of these, approximately 45,200 people in Burkina Faso and Mali are expected to face catastrophic levels of food insecurity. (IPC/CH Phase 5).   Famine Prevention needs an all-hands-on-deck approach   The global food crisis was at the centre of the conversations at the 2023 Humanitarian Affairs Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), held from 21 to 23 June 2023 in Geneva. The discussions brought together Member States, the UN, a broad range of humanitarian and development partners, local community representatives, as well as representatives from the private sector and the academia. They provided an opportunity to discuss meaningful, locally-driven and people-centred solutions to preventing famine.   Several red threads emerged, including the need to address the key drivers of the global food crisis through political solutions to end conflict and mitigate its impact, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation.   The importance of scaling anticipatory action to save lives, and the criticality of local actors - particularly women-led organizations - in driving sustainable impact was highlighted throughout.   Overall, the notion of not being to “humanitarian our way out of the current humanitarian situation” was prevalent, with a strong focus on the need for an all-hands-on-deck approach to preventing famine in 2023 through holistic solutions and resilient agri-food systems.   Speaking at the High-Level Panel, the UN Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, Reena Ghelani, highlighted five areas for action.   • First, redouble global efforts to prevent, reduce and end conflict and violence. Conflict remains the main driver of hunger for 117 million people in 19 countries, almost half of those affected and it absorbs almost 80 per cent of food sector aid.   • Second, invest seriously in climate adaptation and mitigation in the most vulnerable countries. Climate change is the main driver of hunger for 57 million people, and while its impact will continue to be most acutely felt in the poorest and most crisis-affected countries, only a fraction of development or climate finance goes to such contexts.   • Third, address the social, governance and economic factors that fuel those crises. Economic factors are the main driver of hunger for 84 million people, almost triple the number compared to 2021. Around 60 percent of low income countries are in or at high risk of debt distress, leaving limited resources to address the crises in their own countries.   • Fourth, place women and girls at the centre of our efforts to combat these crises. Closing the gender gap in agriculture inputs alone could lift approximately 100-150 million people out of hunger and reduce poverty rates by between 12 and 25 percent.   • And fifth, the humanitarian and development community must be faster, better and less riskaverse. Only a third of development aid goes to countries with food crises. When it does, only 11 percent is channelled to the food or agriculture sectors, and not enough of it is invested in rural areas where 80 percent of the most food insecure people live. Humanitarian response, meanwhile, is funded at less than 21 percent and is not sufficiently focused on anticipatory action, resilience and sustainability.   As the UN Secretary-General recently noted, a world without extreme poverty or hunger could be within reach. We have the information, expertise and technology to achieve that. What we need now is the collective commitment and hard work and the tough choices to make it happen.   We can’t fight famine without gender equality   Gender equality is threatened by the current hunger emergency. There are now about 150 million more hungry women and girls than men, and the gender gap is increasing quickly.   A series of recent reports, including OCHA’s Gendered Drivers, Risks and Impacts of Food Insecurity, Beyond Hunger and FAO’s Status of Women in Agrifood Systems, lay bare the disproportionate impacts of the global hunger crisis on women and girls, including in the areas of education, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health.   Women working in agrifood systems often face marginalization, as well as worse working conditions and pay than men. Women also have less secure tenure over land and less access to credit and training. Despite their active role and crucial contributions in food systems and climate action, women often lack access to decision-making and leadership positions.   We must elevate the voices of women’s organizations active in food security, and to ensure their leadership role is acknowledged and promoted through mutual support, funding, and a better access to land, credit and productive assets. Women and girls hold the key to fighting famine. We need to start listening to them. http://tinyurl.com/yuxfa77k   http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/crises/en/ http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/hunger-hotspots/en/   July 2023 (WFP)   The largest food and nutrition crisis in history continues to deepen its impact, 345 million people will be acutely food insecure this year and millions of people at risk of worsening hunger.   Conflicts, climate change and disasters, economic instability and financial crises – all compounded by the current funding crisis – converge in an overwhelming polycrisis driving the global food crisis.   An estimated 40.4 million people across 51 countries are in Emergency or worse levels of acute food insecurity in 2023. Without urgent life-saving action, these populations will be at risk of falling into catastrophe or famine conditions.   As of June 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) plans to reach some 170 million people with rations for the remainder of this year.   An expected funding shortfall of a staggering 60 percent is already hampering activities, resulting in ration and caseload cuts in all regions. 2023 will be marked by very hard prioritization calls, as needs by far outpace funding levels.   http://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-global-operational-response-plan-update-8-june-2023 http://www.wfp.org/publications/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity-june-november-2023 http://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/increasing-risk-of-hunger-set-to-spread-in-hotspot-areas/en   July 2023   The adverse impact of climate change on the full realization of the right to food, statement by Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council.   We know that our environment is burning. It's melting. It's flooding. It's depleting. It's drying. It's dying. The predictable, regular swing of the seasons is wildly off course.   Cyclones of unprecedented proportions whip up lethal storm surges. A heatwave pulsates across the ocean, threatening marine life, fisheries and coral. And inland seas and lakes, which have nourished generation upon generation of farmers and fishers, are turning into dust bowls. I saw that earlier this year near the Aral Sea when I visited Uzbekistan.   Yet still we are not acting with the urgency and determination that is required. Leaders perform the choreography of deciding to act and promising to act and then... get stuck in the short term.   On our current course, the average temperature increase by the end of this century is predicted to be 3° Celsius, and our ecosystems – our air, our food, our water, and human life itself – would be unrecognisable.   Vast territories would disappear under rising oceans, or become effectively uninhabitable, due to heat and lack of water. Last August, the temperature in Basrah, in southern Iraq, rose to 52.6°C. I will be travelling to Iraq later this year, in part to highlight the risks of this dystopian future.   Our topic for discussion is the right to food, and clearly this is comprehensively threatened by climate change.   Extreme weather events, and both sudden and gradual disasters caused by climate change, wipe out crops, herds, fisheries and entire ecosystems. Their repetition makes it impossible for communities to rebuild and support themselves.   Globally, there has been a 134% increase in climate-fueled, flood-related disasters between 2000-2023.   More than 828 million people faced hunger in 2021. And climate change is projected to place at least 80 million more people at risk of hunger by the middle of this century – creating a truly terrifying scale of desperation and need.   Already, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, weather extremes related to climate change have damaged the productivity of all agricultural and fishery sectors, with negative consequences for people’s food security and livelihoods. Currently, this impact is worst for small-scale farmers, and for people in Africa below the Sahara; across Asia, in small island States, and in Central and South America.   As global heating accelerates, these repercussions will grow more widespread and more intense. No country will be spared. The worst hit will be people in countries where there is already food insecurity, and where protection systems are not sufficiently robust to respond effectively to climate shocks.   Often, these are countries that benefitted little from industrial development, and contributed next to nothing to the industrial processes which are killing our environment and violating rights.   If this is not a human rights issue, what is? We must not deliver this future of hunger and suffering to our children, and their children. And we don't have to.   We, the generation with the most powerful technological tools in history, have the capacity to change it. If we put an end to senseless subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, and start phasing out of fossil fuels.   If courts around the world that are engaged in climate litigation cases hold businesses and Governments to account. If we shun the greenwashers and those who cast doubt on evidence and facts, out of their own greed.   If we rise above the forces of polarisation, and unify around the imperative of doing the utmost to address climate change, and as a result fulfil human rights.   We must not leave this for our children to fix – no matter how inspiring their activism. The people who must act – who have the responsibility to act – are our leaders, today. Addressing climate change is a human rights issue. And the world demands action, now.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5347-adverse-impact-climate-change-full-realization-right-food   June 2023   Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition   The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has launched its flagship report on “Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition”.   Despite significant progress in reducing global poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition over the past decades, the world continues to grapple with the alarming increase in hunger and malnutrition. The launch of this report comes at a crucial time and highlights the urgent need to address inequalities for food security and nutrition (FSN), and their devastating impact on communities worldwide.   The consequences of such inequalities are far-reaching, diminishing people's life chances, hampering productivity, perpetuating poverty, and impeding economic growth. Unequal food security and nutrition outcomes have even sparked political unrest, eventually leading to protests and food riots.   Inequalities in food security and nutrition, between countries and regions and within countries, communities and households, exist throughout the world. This report provides a conceptual framework for assessing inequalities in food security and nutrition, the inequalities within and outside food systems that underpin them, and the systemic drivers of such inequalities.   The report highlights the ethical, socioeconomic, legal and practical imperatives for addressing these inequalities. It emphasizes that food is a fundamental human right and that inequalities in food security and nutrition undermine this right.   In addition, by applying an intersectional understanding of inequalities – that is, considering the cumulative effects of multiple interacting inequalities on marginalized peoples – the report contributes to a more inclusive understanding and sustainable action to reduce food security and nutrition inequalities.   The report proposes a set of measures to reduce inequalities, both within and beyond food systems. It emphasizes the need for a transformative agenda, aiming for structural change towards equity.   By providing actionable recommendations addressing the systemic drivers of food security and nutrition and advocating for actions in favour of equity and equality, the report contributes to global efforts towards achieving food security and improving overall well-being, leaving no one behind.   http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe/insights/news-insights/news-detail/reducing-inequalities-for-food-security-and-nutrition/en   June 2023   UN expert calls for full legal protection for people displaced by climate change   A UN expert today called for full legal protection for people displaced by the impacts of climate change in order to guarantee their human rights.   “The effects of climate change are becoming more severe, and the number of people displaced across international borders is rapidly increasing,” said Ian Fry, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the context of climate change.   “In 2020 alone, 30.7 million people were displaced from their homes due to weather-related events. Droughts were the main factor,” Fry said in his latest in his latest thematic report to the Human Rights Council. “We must take immediate steps to give legal protection to these people.”   The Special Rapporteur said that people displaced by climate change face multiple human rights violations including of their rights to food, water, sanitation, housing, health, education and, for some, their right to life.   “The human rights implications of climate change displacement, in particular across international borders, are significant and truly disturbing,” the expert said.   He called it “profoundly worrying” that large numbers of people displaced across borders die or go missing every year at both land and sea borders. More than 50,000 lost their lives during migratory movements between 2014 and 2022, Fry’s report said.   “It is equally shocking to note that more than half of those deaths occurred on routes to and within Europe, including in the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.   According to the Special Rapporteur, displacement due to climate change can result from different types of situations, from sudden to slow progressing events like sea level rise or droughts.   Most people affected by these events are forced to move. Women and children being the most impacted by disasters and the effects of climate change, also make up for the majority of displaced people.   “The international community must realise its responsibility to protect people displaced across borders by climate change impacts,” the expert said.   Fry explained that the world was not operating in a total vacuum in terms of legal protection of people displaced due to climate change. He said there were several international human rights safeguards to address the issue.   “The Human Rights Council should prepare a resolution for submission to the UN General Assembly urging the body to develop an optional protocol under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees to address displacement and legal protection for people all over the world affected by the climate crisis,” the expert said.   “Until then, I urge all nations to develop national legislation to provide humanitarian visas for persons displaced across international borders due to climate change, as an interim measure,” he said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/un-expert-calls-full-legal-protection-people-displaced-climate-change   July 2023   Michael Fakhri, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food releases new report, in which he examines the issues with regard to the realization of the right to food, in particular in the context of the response to and recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.   The report comes at a time when the right to food has been widely recognized as the way forward to respond to and recover from the food crisis and to transform food systems.   When the covid pandemic triggered a global food crisis that affected rich and poor countries alike, many people turned to local farmers’ markets, smaller businesses and social enterprises to express their right to food, according to Fakhri. After witnessing how corporate-dominated supply chains fractured, in a number of communities people took care of each other, began growing their own food and adopted enhanced community self reliance strategies.   Fakhri details how the formal end of the pandemic has made the food crisis that started in 2020 worse, in part because governments ended Covid-era policies that assisted people in accessing food amid the rise of global inflation, food prices and conflict.   To recover from the current food crisis and prepare for the future, Fakhri calls for national plans to enhance food security, developing an international coordinated response to the food crisis, and transforming food systems to make them more resilient to climate change and prevent biodiversity loss.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a78202-interim-report-special-rapporteur-right-food   Food, nutrition and the right to health - Report by Tlaleng Mofokeng, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health   In this report Tlaleng Mofokeng focuses on food, nutrition and the right to health. She analyses access to food and nutrition and related clinical and health outcomes, and their reflection of power asymmetries, policy and regulatory frameworks.   The Special Rapporteur examines how the lack of access to safe and nutritious food has an impact on growth, development and quality of life across the life cycle. She also identifies how increased consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages has driven the burden of non- communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She focuses on good practices in different parts of the world and encourages a comprehensive approach to food security, nutrition and the right to health.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a78185-food-nutrition-and-right-health-report-special-rapporteur-right   Mar. 2023   Conflict and the right to food: - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri.   All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Nonetheless, the world is rife with discrimination and inequality. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic exposed just how deadly discrimination and inequality can be.   Along with others, the Special Rapporteur has identified systemic discrimination and structural inequality as root causes of human rights violations. Human rights law commonly addresses inequality by focusing on people who are poor, vulnerable or marginalized.   Echoing his own previous reports as well as recent ones by other mandate holders, the Special Rapporteur reiterates that human rights law requires scrutinizing how people are made poor, vulnerable or marginalized. How is inequality produced?   Structural inequality is not a natural occurrence or anomalous. It is produced by systems, including food systems. The right to food can be fully realized only once all actors involved understand how our food systems are making people vulnerable to harm.   The mandate holder has observed over the years how violence in food systems can be detrimental, especially to marginalized people, smaller communities, isolated families and workers who lack the resources for collective bargaining and action.   All food providers – be it a parent, worker, small-scale or large-scale food producer – are particularly vulnerable to violence in times of distress and crisis. When food providers are vulnerable, communities are vulnerable.   Violence in food systems has increased in recent years owing to the interdependence of various factors affecting global food security. For example, the rural communities dealing with the loss of traditional livelihoods and farmers who confront land-grabbing by powerful businesses are in many instances already severely affected by climate change and drought.   Communities that have to take on an overwhelming struggle against corporations for the preservation of their ancestral lands, traditional knowledge and seeds are often the ones that, during the global pandemic, relied heavily on their own such knowledge, ancestral dietary habits and holistic practices for survival.   In preparing the present report, the Special Rapporteur found that structural inequality had made mass amounts of people more vulnerable to violence; in turn, systemic violence has been a significant cause of structural inequality. This vicious cycle of structural inequality and systemic violence causes widespread human rights violations.   Food systems not only produce food but also generate and amplify violence that makes people more poor, vulnerable and marginalized. In the report, the Special Rapporteur gives an account of different forms of violence in food systems that harm people and generate the conditions that lead to human rights violations.   He does not attempt to address all forms of violence in food systems; instead, he draws from the inputs received to provide a narrative on how different interests and identities experience shared forms of violence.   The Special Rapporteur frames violence as systemic, focusing on how violence inherently structures food systems. He outlines four interconnected and overlapping forms of violence: discrimination; bodily harm or assault against a person’s physical and mental integrity; ecological violence; and erasure.   Food systems rely on a global economy of dependency and extractivism. In a joint study, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) found that violence and conflict remain the drivers of acute hunger in many parts of the world. They concluded that both hunger and violence would increase in 2022, especially as the global economy deteriorated.   Over the past four years, global rates of hunger have risen and are expected to continue to rise in the near future, leading to record humanitarian needs. Conflict and natural disasters alone cannot, however, explain this trend. Understanding systemic violence in food systems requires viewing them as part of the global economy.   Today’s global economy is the continuation of a centuries-long process characterized by a dynamic of dependency and extractivism undergirded by international law at large and national legal regimes. Countries and transnational corporations, in their pursuit of extracting resources from nature, have disrupted and reconfigured people’s social and ecological relationships, limiting people’s ability to have a stable livelihood and attacking people’s very existence.   This degree of disruption and reconfiguration is a violent act against people, undermining their dignity and humanity, often through categories of disability, race and gender. The resulting structural inequality is illustrated by the fact that people in situations of vulnerability and from marginalized communities are usually – and predictably – at the losing end of having their rights met, especially their right to food.   Systemic violence violates the right to life by limiting or denying people access to the necessities of life: land, seeds, water, fair and stable markets and dignified work. When people are dispossessed of their land or work in hostile conditions, they are more exposed to harm on a regular basis.   With less secure access to land or dignified work, people have less bargaining power because they are limited in their ability to negotiate favourable terms in commercial transactions or for work. This is how systemic violence makes people vulnerable and dependent while enabling a relatively small group to take advantage of their vulnerability. It allows the few who already have power and resources to gain the ability to restrict access to what is necessary to reproduce life, generating more violence and inequality.   During today’s food crisis, transnational corporations in the agrifood sector are profiteering while people struggle and suffer as life gets harder. Markets today amplify the crisis and are prone to volatility because of a global food system that relies on a small number of industrially produced staple grains, a small number of countries to produce those grains for export, and a small number of corporations that dominate the agrifood market.   Since the 1980s, the dominant global common sense has been that Governments should no longer use international agricultural policy to cooperate or to try and stabilize markets; instead, policymakers have been driven by short-term calculations of rapid production and maximizing profit.   * Access the report: http://undocs.org/A/HRC/52/4   Mar. 2023   Women, girls and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.   (Report of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, David Boyd).   All people depend on nature for their life, health and well-being, from the oxygen in air produced by plants on land and at sea, to crops pollinated by birds, bats and bees and other insects. Everyone has the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.   This includes clean air; access to safe water and adequate sanitation; healthy and sustainably produced food; non-toxic environments in which to live, work, study and play; healthy biodiversity and ecosystems; and a safe climate.   Unfortunately, gender-based stereotypes, biases, inequalities and discrimination profoundly restrict women and girls’ enjoyment of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.   This also affects the rights to life, health, adequate housing, food, water, sanitation, education and an adequate standard of living, cultural rights and child rights.   It has been 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights boldly stated that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.   The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which currently has 189 States parties, entered into force in 1981. Despite remarkable progress towards gender equality in some States, systemic discrimination persists.   Laws that discriminate against women and girls, sociocultural norms that reduce their agency, and stereotypes about femininity, masculinity and gender-assigned roles continue to restrict the political and economic power of women and girls in every State and every sphere of society.   The planetary environmental crisis affects everyone, everywhere, but not equally. Harmful gender norms, stereotypes, biases and discrimination exclude women and girls from participating in environmental decision-making and enjoying a fair share of nature’s benefits, while imposing disproportionate impacts related to the climate emergency, biodiversity collapse and pervasive pollution.   According to the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the exclusion of half of society from effectively helping to shape environmental policies means those policies will be less responsive to the specific damage being caused, less effective in protecting communities and may even intensify the harm being done”.   Sustainable development depends on the gender-transformative realization of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, as recognized in United Nations resolutions.   In its pioneering resolution 48/13, adopted in 2021, the Human Rights Council emphasized that States must fully respect human rights obligations, including those related to gender equality.   In its resolution 76/300, adopted in 2022, the UN General Assembly recognized the importance of gender equality, gender responsive action to address climate change and environmental degradation, the empowerment, leadership, decision-making and full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls, and the role that women play as managers, leaders and defenders of natural resources and agents of change in safeguarding the environment.   As demonstrated by their impressive but under-appreciated contributions to protecting the environment, women and girls are powerful, transformative agents of change who should be primarily viewed not as victims, but as equal, indispensable partners and leaders in the transition to a just and sustainable future.   In order for women and girls to realize their rights and potential, nature must be conserved, protected and restored, pollution must be prevented and urgent action must be taken to achieve a safe climate.   The voices of women and girls must be heard, their ideas implemented and their stewardship work rewarded. To facilitate these advances, society must dismantle the beliefs, norms, institutions and systems that perpetuate gender discrimination.   The global economy is broken. It is based on two pillars – the exploitation of people and the exploitation of the planet – that are fundamentally unjust, unsustainable and incompatible with human rights. Similarly, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) observed that environmental crises “are deeply rooted in an economic system that fails to value, protect, nourish and invest in what is essential”.   Like women’s disproportionate unpaid labour and contributions to the care economy, nature’s contributions to people are a critical foundation for human health and the economy but are taken for granted.   Skewed value systems that champion profit, growth and domination of nature fuel discrimination, environmental injustice and the oppression, erasure and exploitation of women, girls and other vulnerable groups.   Businesses abuse human rights with impunity, worsen inequality, pollute, destroy nature and exacerbate the climate crisis. Powerful marketing methods exploit stereotypes and drive gendered patterns of unsustainable consumption (e.g. meat, cars, cosmetics and fashion) to the detriment of women, girls, human rights and the environment.   As a result, women and girls face profound socioeconomic disadvantages that erode their political agency and power. Legal, social and cultural obstacles prevent them from securing jobs, promotions and leadership positions, and limit their access to land, natural resources, finance, technologies, agricultural equipment and inputs, training and extension services.   The following facts illustrate the pervasive, devastating nature of gender discrimination today:   (a) Women comprise 70 per cent of the world’s poor; rural women have fared worse than rural men and urban women and men on every development indicator;   (b) Women do three times more unpaid household and care work than men in both high- and low-income countries, resulting in time poverty, lower employment and lower earnings;   (c) Women are overrepresented in informal economies (and thus lack social and legal protections); receive 20 per cent lower wages than men for the same work; and frequently experience worse working conditions;   (d) Women are underrepresented in leadership, management and decision-making roles across all levels and all sectors:   (i) Across 156 countries, women hold only 22.9 per cent of parliament seats and represent only 16.1 per cent of ministers;   (ii) In 2022, only 8.8 per cent of chief executive officers at Fortune 500 companies were women.   At current rates of progress, it will take 286 years to repeal or amend discriminatory laws and close gaps in legal protection for women and girls, and 155 years to close the political empowerment gap.   Making matters worse, many gender gaps have widened as a result of the economic, health and social consequences of the coronavirus disease (COVID 19) pandemic.   Gender discrimination and stereotypes affect girls from a young age, as they are treated as inferior in many States and cultures, undermining their self-esteem and leading to lifelong inequality, deprivation and exclusion.   For example, domestic obligations imposed on girls – including water and fuel collection, cooking, cleaning, care-giving and other time-consuming tasks that interfere with girls’ education, play and development – are rooted in cultural norms and traditions that give men and boys preferential treatment.   States must tackle the root causes of gender inequality. To fulfil women and girls’ human rights, gender-transformative changes to laws, policies, programmes and projects, as well as education, awareness-building and training are urgently needed. Human rights, based on the bedrock of equality and non-discrimination, can and should be a catalyst for needed systemic changes.   Although the present report is focused on the right of women and girls to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, all human rights are interrelated, undermined by inequality and gender discrimination, and compounded by intersecting vulnerabilities related to race, ethnicity, poverty, age, sexual orientation, migration status and disability.   * Access the report: http://undocs.org/A/HRC/52/33 Visit the related web page
	Millions of people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification   GAZA STRIP: Hostilities leave the entire population highly food insecure and at risk of Famine:   Ongoing conflict and restrictions on humanitarian assistance and commercial goods entering the Gaz Strip have caused catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity. Around 85 percent of the population (1.9 million people) is displaced, with many people having relocated multiple times, and currently concentrated into an increasingly smaller geographic area.   There is a risk of Famine and it is increasing each day that the current situation of intense hostilities and restricted humanitarian access persists or worsens. The intensification of the hostilities, further reduction in access to food, basic services, and lifesaving assistance, and the extreme concentration or isolation of people in inadequate shelters or areas without basic services are major factors that contribute to increasing this risk.   Between 24 November and 7 December 2023, over 90 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.08 million people) was estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). Among these, over 40 percent of the population (939,000 people) were in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and over 15 percent (378,000 people) were in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).   In the projected period, between 8 December 2023 and 7 February 2024, the entire population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.2 million people) is classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse).   Among these, about 50 percent of the population (1.17 million people) are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and at least one in four households (more than half a million people) is facing catastrophic conditions - IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). These are characterized by households experiencing an extreme lack of food, starvation and exhaustion of coping capacities.   Even though the levels of acute malnutrition and non-trauma related mortality might not have yet crossed famine thresholds, these are typically the outcomes of prolonged and extreme food consumption gaps. The increased nutritional vulnerability of children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and the elderly is a particular source of concern.   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-94/en/   SOUTH SUDAN: Approximately 5.83 million people likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity, 1.65 million children expected to be acutely malnourished   Approximately 5.83 million people – almost half of South Sudan’s population (46 percent) – are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity classified as IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse) between September to November 2023. An estimated 35,000 people are in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). 1.64 million people are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency).   In the harvest/post-harvest projection period of December 2023 to March 2024, the situation is projected to improve marginally as a result of reduced intensity of climatic shocks. An estimated 5.78 million people (46 percent of the population) are projected to face IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse), including 1.71 million people likely to be in Phase 4.   In the lean season projection period of April to July 2024, the food security situation will deteriorate and an estimated 7.10 million people (56 percent of the population) will be highly food insecure (IPC Phase 3 or above). 79,000 people are likely to be in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe) while an estimated 2.34 million people are likely to be in Phase 4.   The most food insecure populations are in locations that have been significantly affected by frequent climate-related shocks (flooding and dry spells), the economic crisis (currency depreciation and high food prices), conflict and insecurity – including the spillover effects of the conflict in Sudan – causing forced displacement, low agricultural production and a reduction in humanitarian assistance.   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-91/en/ http://www.unocha.org/publications/report/south-sudan/we-cant-turn-blind-eye-south-sudan   AFGHANISTAN: 13.1 million people experience high levels of acute food insecurity   Afghanistan’s economy remains exceedingly fragile, and the food insecurity remains alarmingly high. In October 2023, during the post-harvest season, approximately 13.1 million people, accounting for 29 percent of the total population faced high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above).   The main drivers of this acute food insecurity included challenging economic conditions, high unemployment rates, reduced livelihood opportunities and decreased remittances. The adverse impact of extreme and variable climatic conditions – particularly the multi-year drought experienced between 2021 and 2023 – continue to be felt in 2023. Additionally, other natural hazards such as flooding and earthquakes further compromised the limited coping capacity of the population, resulting in the persistence of a severe food insecurity situation.   In the projection period, between November 2023 and March 2024 (corresponding to the winter lean season) a further deterioration in food security is expected, with the number of people in IPC Phase 3 or above likely to rise to 15.8 million (36 percent of the total population), including about 3.6 million people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), and about 12.3 million people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-93/en/   Sep. 2023   DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Acute Food Insecurity   Between July and December 2023, approximately 25.4 million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). This includes around 3.5 million people classified in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 20 percent (around 21.8 million people) in Phase 3 (Crisis).   The most affected populations are mainly displaced people, returnees, host families and populations living in conflict zones or affected by natural disasters. The persistence of socio-political conflicts continues to disrupt the agricultural activities of households – impacting their livelihoods. The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the country is more than 6.3 million, including 677,000 newly displaced people since the start of 2023. http://tinyurl.com/4z9sce77   SOMALIA: Acute Food Insecurity and Malnutrition   Despite the positive impact of the 2023 Gu rains and humanitarian assistance, the levels of acute food insecurity are projected to remain high. Between October to December 2023, 4.3 million people are expected to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes. This includes over 1 million people who will likely be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). The increase in the number of people facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes from 3.7 million between August to September 2023 to 4.3 million between October to December 2023 is due to a combination of factors, including the adverse impacts of El-Nino flooding and anticipated decline in the level of humanitarian assistance in the coming months because of funding constraints. Acute malnutrition analysis findings show that approximately 1.5 million children under the age of five years face acute malnutrition between August 2023 and July 2024, including 330,630 who are likely to be severely malnourished. http://tinyurl.com/4dbwue3e   KENYA: Acute Food Insecurity and Malnutrition   Between July and September 2023, about 2.8 million people in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands are classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse), including nearly 500,000 people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency). Despite some seasonal improvements in the projection period (October 2023 to January 2024), several counties will likely remain in Phase 3 or above. Nearly 946,000 children under the age of five will likely suffer from acute malnutrition between July 2023 to July 2024 and will need treatment. Of these, over 217,000 children are likely severely malnourished. http://tinyurl.com/2f32d7ka   HAITI: Acute Food Insecurity   Haiti continues to experience heightened gang activity, with increased kidnappings, armed attacks, robberies and sexual violence. This has forced major internal displacement to take place. About 4.35 million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity between August 2023 and February 2024 with 1.4 million people classified in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and around 2.95 million people are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). No humanitarian food assistance has been confirmed for the projected period of March to June 2024, therefore, it is estimated the number of people in Phase 3 will likely increase to 3.03 million (31 percent of the population) – bringing the total population in need of urgent action to 45 percent. http://tinyurl.com/bdhpye3f   Sudan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation   Conflict and economic decline have driven about 20.3 million people across Sudan (over 42 percent of the country’s population) into high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse) between July and September 2023. Of those, 14 million people (29 percent of the population) are under in IPC Phase 3, Crisis, and almost 6.3 million people (13 percent of the population) are experiencing worse conditions in IPC Phase 4, Emergency.   The most highly food insecure populations are in locations and states with active conflict, including West Darfur (where 62 percent of the population is highly food insecure), Khartoum and South Kordofan (56 percent of the population in IPC Phase 3 or above in these states), the Central Darfur, the East and the South Darfur as well as West Kordofan (53 percent of the population is in IPC Phase 3 or above in these states).   The ongoing conflict in Sudan that erupted on 15 April 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is deepening the humanitarian crisis and worsening the food security situations of the people in several urban and rural areas. The escalation of violence in Khartoum, Greater Darfur, and Greater Kordofan has triggered the large-scale displacement of 2.6 million people across all states of Sudan - forcing 757,230 people to flee to neighbouring countries.   The conflict has also resulted in critical damage and destruction to infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, schools, power and water sources and telecommunications. Wide looting of markets, banks, industries and public buildings led to an increased shortage of essential services, food and non-food items across the country, further aggravating the fragile food insecurity and malnutrition. The price of food and essential commodities has soared, limiting access to the market for the population. According to reports from numerous states, including those unaffected by the ongoing fighting, the conflict between SAF and RSF in Sudan is endangering the production of staple crops this year   During the projection period of October 2023 to February 2024, around 15 million people (the highest ever recorded figure coinciding with Sudan’s harvesting season) are likely to face IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse) conditions. This includes more than 3.8 million people likely to be in Phase 4 and 11.2 million people likely to be in Phase 3. Out of the 15 million people in IPC Phase 3 or above, 60 percent are in Greater Darfur, Greater Kordofan and Khartoum State, with the highest caseload of Phase 3 and 4 in these regions. Greater Darfur alone represents 29 percent of the total population in Phase 3 or above out of the total 60 percent. Across all the states, around eight localities from the Greater Darfur are classified in Phase 4. http://tinyurl.com/2pbtm3dp   Pakistan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation   Nearly 10.5 million people (29 percent of the population analysed) are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between April to October 2023. Approximately 2.1 million people (6 percent of the analysed population) will be in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), and around 8.4 million people (23 percent of the analysed population) will be in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).   The present analysis covered 43 rural districts in the three most vulnerable provinces of Pakistan: Balochistan (18 districts), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (9 districts), and Sindh (16 districts). The total analysed population of these collective areas is nearly 37 million people, which accounts for around 16 percent of Pakistan’s total population.   In the latter half of 2022, the vast majority of these districts were hit by severe monsoon rains and flooding, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan, significantly impacting food production, consumption, livelihoods, and limited employment opportunities for those affected by the floods. Access to food remains a major challenge due to the impact the 2022 floods had on food commodity prices and limiting livelihood opportunities.   The situation is projected to worsen between November 2023 and January 2024 where 11.8 million people (32 percent of the analysed population) will likely experience high levels of acute food insecurity. http://tinyurl.com/mryn7fer   Malawi: Acute Food Insecurity Situation   The 2023 IPC analysis for Malawi is indicative that 3 million people representing 15 percent of the total population are experiencing high acute food insecurity IPC Phase 3, Crisis, in 28 districts and four cities. This situation will prevail from June to September 2023 for the aforementioned population. Thus, immediate measures need to be taken to protect livelihoods and reduce food consumption gaps. An additional 5.9 million individuals are currently classified under IPC Phase 2, Stressed and necessitate intervention to mitigate disaster risks and protect their livelihoods. Eleven districts are classified in IPC Phase 3, Crisis, these include: Balaka, Blantyre, Chikhwawa, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Nsanje, Phalombe, Thyolo and Zomba.   Key factors driving this situation are the various climatic shocks experienced throughout the district, mainly dry spells, cyclones and floods, leading to below average crop production; economic decline, including the effects of the war in Ukraine on fuel and commodity prices, the 25 percent devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha, high input prices, leading to high costs of production and the continued high food inflation leading to high food prices and low purchasing power.   The situation is expected to worsen during the period from October 2023 to March 2024. In this projected period, 4.4 million people, representing 22 percent of total Malawians in the country will be in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). These people will require humanitarian assistance to sustain livelihoods and mitigate food consumption gaps. http://tinyurl.com/3yh2d7kc   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/   * The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a evidence and consensus-based analysis of food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations. Using the IPC classification and analytical approach, Governments, UN Agencies, NGOs, civil society and other relevant actors, work together to determine the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity, and acute malnutrition situations in a country, according to internationally-recognised scientific standards. Visit the related web page
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