June 20, 2017
Written by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
The world today is grappling with four looming famines which are testing the capacity of our strapped global humanitarian response infrastructure. In Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen, protracted conflict has left 30 million people, mostly children, in the throes of severe food insecurity, with 20 million potentially facing starvation.
José Graziano da Silva, Director General of the FAO, and David Beasley, the newly appointed Executive Director of WFP, traveled together in May to visit some of the hardest hit communities in famine-stricken South Sudan. At CSIS on June 5, they shared their perspectives on what the United Nations has called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.
How did we get here and what are the most urgent steps the global community must take to respond to this hunger crisis? Why is it important for the United States to play a leadership role in the response? Why is it imperative for the global humanitarian community to move beyond empathy to action?
Watch the video from the event above.