Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Programme said that “hunger” is the “prime cause” of conflicts around the world, and it’s a “national issue” requiring the assistance of all the countries involved.
We need everyone’s help. McCain stated on “Face the Nation With Margaret Brennan” that the world was on fire. She added that “hunger has been at the heart of all this.”
McCain said that when people are food insecure, they “do not behave well and start to migrate.”
She said, “Wars start that way.” “Conflict plays a role in all of this.”
The World Food Programme has its hands in Syria. This country is currently experiencing a period of uncertainty following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader. McCain noted that the World Food Programme’s deliveries in the region have been “very smoothly” thus far, with 70,000 people being fed this month. However, he also said they needed more funding and delivery options.
McCain noted that the World Food Programme was able to deliver goods and food to Syria “securely and rapidly.” She added that she hopes that things “stay calm,” so that they can continue to work on a full scale. She said that the World Food Programme is seeing “evidence” of “great hunger” in Syria, and noted that people would “starve to death” without funding.
McCain stated that the campaign could use $17 billion globally, saying “So many nations have no access to funding at all.”
She added, “Nobody is paying attention to it.”
McCain described the “complicated” situation in Sudan. It is difficult to reach certain parts of the country including those where famine was declared. In Gaza, she noted that conditions were “very close” a famine. She also mentioned that only two World Food Programme trucks had been able to reach the area during November.
McCain, referring to the issues of access said, “We need a truce and we need one now.” “As the head of the largest humanitarian agency in the globe, she is calling for the suspension of hostilities in Gaza, and encouraging her partners within the aid sector to do the exact same.”
McCain stated, “We can no longer stand by and watch these people starve to death.” “We need assistance, and we must make sure we apply political pressure to those who need it.”
