Citizens of Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria are under the threat of starvation, which 20 million people will face. It might lead to the suffering and death of 1.4 million of children. Stephen O'Brien, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, has reported that this humanitarian crisis is the biggest in the history of the United Nations since 1945.
"Now, more than 20 million people across four countries face starvation and famine. Without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death.
Much more will suffer and die from a disease," said O'Brien. This situation in Africa, he adds, is a critical stage in the history of the whole world.
Four countries of Africa need urgent help
Stephen O'Brien also adds that if other nations ignore what is happening, it can cause a new wave of refugees, which "will create even greater instability in whole regions." To implement the United Nations plan to solve the problem, which includes humanitarian operations and the use of qualified personnel for the first aid people may need, about 4 billion dollars will be required. This number is not negotiable in this case.
Unfortunately, armed conflicts near the territories of Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia and Southern Sudan, and the reluctance of warring sides to cooperate with humanitarian organisations create additional difficulties, the British politician reports.
In this regard, he asked the members of the Security Council to force conflicting parties to stop clashes and give access to the population of the affected areas.
Famine in Africa is a global catastrophe
Representatives of other countries also expressed concern about the current situation in Africa. Vladimir Safronkov (Russian Federation) stated that "the task is to unite efforts at the regional and international levels." Francois Delattre (France) mentioned that it is "'the primary responsibility of Governments to protect their populations", and United Nations acts can not replace it. Michele Sison (USA) reminded that humanitarian help must be provided to millions of people and crisis might be prevented only if countries are genuinely willing to help.
