By Tope Templer Olaiya
The cost of food, fuel and fertiliser in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities is continuing to escalate to crisis levels since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Families spend up to 10 times what they paid almost 18 months ago, according to new analysis from international humanitarian organisation, ActionAid.
This was disclosed yesterday after a survey of more than 1,000 community members and leaders in 14 countries across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, where the survey found that prices of pasta and fertiliser rose by more than 115 per cent over the period monitored, while costs of petrol and period pads increased by 80 per cent or more, leading to soaring child marriage rates and worsening mental health.
This is despite the latest UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index showing a 11.7 per cent decline in global prices since February 2022.
Community leaders in 10 out of 11 of the countries surveyed (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Zambia and Zimbabwe), said that rates of child marriage were increasing in their local areas, while more than half of those surveyed said the price rises made them feel sad or hopeless (54 per cent and 53 per cent respectively), prompting concerns about the impact the crisis is having on families’ emotional wellbeing.
Alberta Guerra, Global Policy Analyst at ActionAid, said:
“This pioneering research shows that since the onset of the war in Ukraine, the most vulnerable people around the world are bearing the brunt of skyrocketing food, fuel and fertiliser prices, with women and girls the hardest hit. They are disproportionally affected by multiple crises that impact their food intake, education, their right to live free from child marriage, and their mental health and wellbeing.”
Continuing, Ms Guerra said: “Social protection measures need to be urgently introduced, including free education services and free school meals, to assist the families who are most at risk.
“In the longer term, governments dependent on food imports must also invest in national and regional food reserves to act as buffers and reduce countries’ vulnerability to food shortages and price rises. The catastrophic impacts we are seeing make it clear why a just transition to renewable energy and agroecological farming practices is needed now more than ever, both to protect communities from shocks but also to offer resilience against the climate crisis. There is no time to waste.”
Since the start of the war, in local markets and communities in the countries surveyed: Communities are now spending twice as much on a loaf of bread; average prices for fertilisers rose by 118%; the average cost of petrol increased by 80%; cooking oil was up by an average of 57 per cent; and cooking gas was up by an average of 47per cent.
Source: The Guardian
