The war in Ukraine weighs on the humanitarian system worldwide, warns the Red Cross
The conflict in Ukraine is weighing on the humanitarian system globally and could have lasting effects on the ability of organizations to respond to emergencies around the world, the Red Cross warned on Tuesday.
This war, which will enter its seventh month on Wednesday, has pushed people “at a critical breaking point”explained in a press release Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). “The devastating shock effects are only increasing as the conflict drags on, with food and energy prices rising and food crises worsening”he added.
The fallout from the conflict is increasing aid needs around the world, Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, IFRC Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, said in an online press briefing.
“The crisis has spread to the entire humanitarian system and put it under enormous stress”she pointed out, and “this will have a lasting effect on the ability of humanitarian organizations and donors to respond to emergencies elsewhere”.
The Russian invasion launched on February 24 in Ukraine, one of the world’s main grain exporters, has contributed to the severe food shortages facing the world’s poorest regions.
Despite efforts to resume Ukrainian grain deliveries through the Black Sea, these exports have fallen by 46% since the start of the year, according to the IFRC. “This massive drop is having a major effect on the Greater Horn of Africa, where more than 80 million people are facing extreme hunger – the worst food crisis in seventy years”she insists.
The Red Cross, which now has more than 100,000 local volunteers and staff in Ukraine and neighboring countries, continues to increase its humanitarian needs assessments there. The organization deplores the enormous damage in Ukraine, where millions of people have had to leave their homes: “Even if the conflict were to end tomorrow, it will take years to undo the destruction inflicted on towns and homes and the impact on families. »
Already, rising inflation and shortages of essentials such as fuel and food in Ukraine and neighboring countries are forcing more and more people to struggle to obtain basic necessities. And the needs will only grow with the colder weather expected in the coming weeks.
“It will be the hardest winter”said Maksym Dotsenko, director general of the Ukrainian Red Cross, during the press briefing. “The needs are increasing” and the consequences will be felt beyond Ukraine, he warned.