The world's most vulnerable populations remain at significant risk to the effects of food shortages and malnutrition according to the 2011 World Disaster Report (WDR) released today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
"High food prices and lack of access to basic nutrition continue to negatively affect millions of people every day," says Conrad Sauvé, secretary general and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross. "Aid organizations, countries and individuals must continue to work to ensure basic food is available and affordable for the world's most vulnerable populations."
A new round of food inflation and severe hikes in the price of basic foodstuffs such as rice, maize, wheat, oil, sugar and salt is plunging many of the world's poorest people, including millions across the Horn of Africa, into deeper poverty and into situations of severe hunger and malnourishment.
According to the WDR the populations most affected by hunger and malnutrition are the poor who typically spend between 50 and 80 per cent of their incomes on food.
The Canadian Red Cross has a strong history of supporting communities affected by hunger and malnutrition. This includes a current appeal to support countries in the Horn of Africa that have been ravaged by drought.
"Canadians have been generous in their support for people affected by the famine and drought in the Horn of Africa," Sauvé said. "We must ensure that food security remains at the forefront of the discussion about how best to support populations affected by disaster."
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