We live in unstable times. It is no coincidence that as more conflicts rage around the world than at any other period since the Second World War, the number of people facing hunger globally is soaring.
Examining this grim connection, sharing knowledge, and capturing wisdom was the purpose of Hunger and Conflict: A Deadly Cycle, the event held this week by United Against Malnutrition & Hunger (UAMH) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
As speaker General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, former Chief of the Defence Staff noted, the occasion could not be more relevant as the timeless interaction between conflict, hunger, and poverty had been brought into sharp relief on our TV screens. Leaders must be far more strategic to defeat it, he said.
Alongside Lord Richards was Air Marshal (Ret’d) Sir Graham Stacey who chaired the gathering, gender advisor to the British Army Donna Gavin, and Geraldine O’Callaghan, Director of the London office of the UN’s World Food Programme. Dr Karin von Hippel, Director General of RUSI, introduced the proceedings.
All four speakers brought exemplary expertise and insight to the event which was attended by Parliamentarians with experience in the armed forces and an interest in international development, as well as representatives from NGOs.
Here at UAMH, we believe that working as an alliance of experts contributing different perspectives and circles of influence is the most effective path to tackling global malnutrition and hunger. This is a critical path to pursue because access to good nutrition is foundational to individual and global development.
The scale of the problem certainly requires an integrated approach. In 2023, the number of people suffering acute food insecurity rose by twenty-four million in one year, to a staggering 282 million people – meaning their lives and livelihoods were in immediate danger. Almost half – that is 135 million people – suffered conflict-driven hunger, making armed violence the biggest cause of hunger worldwide.
The consequences spread beyond borders. Where extreme hunger and child deaths fester, so do anger, instability, and violence, exerting a powerful destabilising effect on communities and countries around the world.
All four speakers looked at the problem through a different lens. The discussion opened with a compelling summary by Sir Graham Stacey, former Chief of Staff for NATO transformation who served on the staff of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, advising on peacebuilding. Sir Graham is also a UAMH advisor.
War decimates food security, its production and availability, Sir Graham said. Throughout history, as now, food has been wielded as a weapon of war leaving people with two choices – to migrate or fight. Plus, accelerating climate change is making bad situations far worse.
Geraldine O’Callaghan recounted the experiences of her World Food Programme colleagues on the ground. How daily deliberate withholding of aid is bringing people to the brink of starvation in Gaza. That a sixteenth-century-like blockade situation is happening in Sudan. And how respect for International Humanitarian Law is steadily being eroded. There is a need to call it out, she said, because it is likely to be copied in other conflicts around the world which undermines and endangers us all.
Attendees listened closely as Donna Gavin explained, step-by-step, how hunger shapes human behaviour in conflict situations. “When people are hungry their risk tolerance changes,” she said. “They make different decisions because they are driven by desperation.” Consequently, there is a much greater risk of exploitation. Families move to where food is, which can create tension between populations. “Women are trafficked. Girls are likely to be removed from school and entered into early marriage to produce a dowry to feed their families,” she said.
All the speakers made clear how hunger is not simply about food, but about safety and security too. Lord Richards called on MPs in the room to persuade fellow Parliamentarians and the Government to place a greater focus on conflict prevention.
In recent decades, strategic thinking had been lamentable he said. Speaking from the perspective of an operational soldier and a historian, Lord Richards called for a big-picture initiative, like the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), to make prosperous nations put in funds to address the problem properly and deal with bullies responsible. Like others in the room, he said he was a committed advocate for international development and ODA should be restored to 0.7pc of GNI.
A cross-party group of MPs attended, including Alex Ballinger, Tan Dhesi, Richard Foord, Monica Harding, Rt Hon Sir Julian Lewis, Helen Maguire, Calum Miller, Steve Race, David Reed, Sam Rushworth, and Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MBE.
NGOs provided valuable input, including Action Against Hunger, the International Committee of the Red Cross UK, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mercy Corps, Safer World, Save the Children, UNICEF, and World Vision. We are grateful for everyone’s contributions.
As leaders around the world grapple with how to make the planet safer and more secure, the consensus was that the event had produced a bigger conversation on which to build. It is a problem that cannot wait, because as Donna Gavin persuasively put it “When people feel unsafe, there can never truly be peace.”
