THE UNITED NATIONS –

Nearly half the planet cannot afford healthy food, the United Nations secretary-general warned Thursday at a food summit that aims to improve global food production and access.

“Food is life. But in countries, communities and households all over the world, this basic need – this human right – is not being met,” Antonio Guterres said at the Virtual Summit on food systems on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly gathering.

Guterres noted that 3 billion people cannot afford nutritious food.

“Every day, hundreds of millions of people go to bed hungry. Children are starving to death,” he said.

As millions of people starve and famine is a reality in parts of Yemen and Ethiopia, nearly a third of all food production is lost or wasted.

The summit, in preparation for over a year, aims to take a fresh look at all aspects of food production to make it more environmentally friendly, safe, nutritious and accessible. It is also part of the promotion of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, of which “zero hunger” is a top priority.

The pandemic increases the challenge

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made this challenge much greater,” Guterres said. “He widened inequalities, decimated economies [and] plunged millions of people into extreme poverty. “

The virus was also on the minds of leaders who addressed the General Assembly on Thursday – especially African leaders, who made up a large part of the speakers for the day. Many have appeared by video message because of the pandemic.

“It is an indictment against humanity that more than 82% of vaccine doses in the world have been acquired by rich countries, while less than 1% have gone to low-income countries,” he said. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a video address.

The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 4% of the African population is fully vaccinated.

“The hoarding and inequitable distribution with the resulting uneven vaccination patterns across the world is not acceptable,” Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a pre-recorded message. “Vaccine nationalism is doomed to fail and runs counter to the mantra that ‘no one is safe until everyone is safe.’ Whether in the North or the South, rich or poor, old or young, all people of the world deserve to have access to vaccines. “

The trend of coups in Africa has also raised concerns. Last year there were military coups in Chad, Mali and Guinea. The Sudanese army said it quelled an attempted coup this week. And in Tunisia, some argue that President Kais Saied essentially succeeded in a coup, invoking emergency powers, sacking the prime minister and suspending parliament to consolidate his authority.

Angolan President João Gonçalves Lourenço said there had not been sufficient reaction from the international community to discourage these coups.

“We consider it necessary for the international community to act with determination and not just publish statements of condemnation in order to force these actors to return power to the legitimately established institutions,” he told the Assembly. “We cannot continue to let recent examples, like those from Guinea and others, succeed in Africa and on other continents.

In the Middle East, Iraqi President Barham Salih has expressed concern over terrorism in his country and in the region as a whole.

“We cannot underestimate the danger posed by terrorism. If we become lax and distracted by regional conflicts, we will simply see the return of obscurantist forces which will threaten our people and our security,” he warned. “Cooperation and solidarity are our only choice in our fight against international terrorism and the groups that support it.”

Other speakers on Thursday included Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Reconciliation

Meanwhile, the opportunities offered this week for intensive diplomacy helped ease a rare break in Franco-American relations.

French officials were outraged by a security pact concluded between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (AUKUS) earlier this month. Under the deal, Australia will receive at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, which will be built in Australia using US technology. The deal came as Australia pulled out of a previous deal for French submarines worth tens of billions of dollars.

A telephone meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday and a face-to-face meeting Thursday between their senior diplomats on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York appear to have largely contributed to calm Paris and restore confidence.

Chris Hannas of VOA contributed to this report.