This is how Haiti's poor describe the burning sensation associated with
chronic hunger: like drinking bleach or battery acid.
The Haitian Creole phrases klorox and asid batri are being heard more often on
the streets of the western hemisphere's poorest country lately as the skyrocketing
price of food — part of a global crisis — pushes more people to the
brink of starvation.
The rising cost of food staples around the world is making national and international
headlines. The crisis is prompting economists, agronomists, finance ministers
and heads of state to come up with immediate and long-term solutions so that
more widespread price increases are averted and increasing discontent is mitigated.
"What we are seeing is unprecedented," said Catholic Relief Services
food aid expert Lisa Kuennen-Asfaw. "If immediate needs are not met, and
if resources and policies supporting increased agricultural production are not
put in place soon, we are heading for a cascade of hunger the world over."
Prices are increasing sharply in every region of the world for some of the most
basic foodstuffs traded on international commodity markets. The price of wheat
has doubled in less than a year, while other staples such as corn, maize and
soy are trading at well above their 1990s levels. Rice, which is the staple food
for about 3 billion people worldwide, has tripled in cost in the last 18 months.
In some countries, prices for milk and meat have more than doubled.
In Egypt, a 110-pound sack of wheat cost about $8 two years ago. Today that same
sack of wheat costs more than $25. As prices rise, more and more Egyptians are
unable to afford their daily bread. They stand in long lines for hours to buy
government-subsidized bread, missing work or school to do so.
In Ethiopia, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, whose urban centers take
in the poorest of the poor, have seen a 20 percent increase in demand for services.
As CRS' biggest partner in Ethiopia, the Missionaries of Charity tell the staff
that the signs of the problem are visible; increasing numbers of women, children,
elderly and disabled people are living on the streets.
In Burkina Faso, a middle-class family of seven now spends 75 percent of its
monthly revenue on food costs alone and still needs extra money to pay for other
household costs like rent, medical expenses and utilities.
The rising cost of food around the world is causing CRS to look for new approaches
to address hunger in both rural and urban areas. As one of the largest private
providers of food aid in the world, the agency is assessing how these price increases
are affecting the people we serve.
Stoked by rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather in key food-producing countries,
and demand from emerging economies like India and China, the surge in food prices
has already sparked violent protests across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. In
Haiti, an island nation already plagued by chronic hunger and where most people
survive on less than $2 per day, deadly riots and street protests broke out in
defiance of skyrocketing food prices. Demonstrators say the cost of food, coupled
with a lethargic government, have left them hungry and politically dissatisfied.
"The anger is palpable across the globe," said Sean Callahan, CRS executive
vice president of overseas operations. "The food crisis is not only being
felt among the poor but it is also eroding the gains of the working and middle
classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile
governments."
CRS food experts say that safety net programs need to be put into place to help
with short and medium-term solutions. Food- and cash-transfer programs need to
be incorporated immediately for countries suffering the most. The World Food
Program put together a 30-country watch list to identify many of the countries
in most need. CRS food experts recommend transfers be carried out using food
vouchers, cash-for-work and food-for-work programs, as well as school feeding
programs. In addition, they recommend the U.S. government increase its immediate
food aid and funding by at least $1.1 billion for this year, to carry out food
and cash crisis mitigation efforts.
At the heart of the food crisis is that global supply needs to catch up with
demand. This situation hits countries that consume more than they produce the
hardest. In response, poor countries need to significantly boost agricultural
production in both near-term and longer-term timeframes.
"One solution," said Kuennen-Asfaw, "is to provide a support mechanism
to small (farmers) through production safety net programs such as subsidizing
seeds and fertilizers. This won't address the longer-term production problems,
but will significantly help boost agricultural production and increase yields
during the next growing season."
CRS food experts and program staff from around the world are very concerned about
this growing food crisis, but they are hopeful that through the implementation
of some of the above programs, widespread famine and food insecurity will be
avoided.
Griffin is the director of communications for Catholic Relief Services.
Find out more
For more information on the global food crisis go to crs.org.
