This year marks 175 years since Black ‘47 - the worst year of the Irish famine. Shockingly, 175 years later, 50 million people – more than 8 times the entire population of Ireland - are now at risk of dying of starvation in 2022. As we remember one of the worst periods in Irish history, we must acknowledge that elsewhere, hunger and famine persist.
Sign our open letter calling on UN Security Council members to guarantee emergency food for people living in conflict, and stop hunger being used as a weapon of war.
We're currently facing unprecedented levels of global hunger and the situation could worsen significantly in the coming months. Unless urgent action is taken, 50 million people are at risk of famine this year.
These stark figures do not account for the crisis unfolding in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. Massive displacement, conflict in cities, and attacks on food markets and farmlands are dramatically affecting food security.
The impact of the Ukraine crisis will also be felt globally, with communities in some of the world's poorest countries being hit hardest. As wheat, corn, cooking oil, and fertiliser supplies plummet and prices soar, people who already face humanitarian crisis are threatened. Sanctions may halt trade in essential supplies and drive prices up even further.
Conflict remains the single biggest driver of hunger around the world, disrupting civilian livelihoods and access to food. At the same, hunger is also being actively weaponised by warring parties in conflict zones, leaving entire communities at risk of starvation.
As a consequence, children living in conflict zones are now statistically more likely to die from hunger and related disease than violence.
But, it doesn't have to be this way. Join us in sending global leaders the urgent message that Nothing Kills Like Hunger.
Sign our open letter now and call on members of the UN Security Council to save lives.