‘1.5bn people need food, fertiliser’ — UN raises concern as Ukraine war enters 100th day

Amin Awad, United Nations (UN) crisis coordinator for Ukraine, says up to 1.5 billion people globally are in need of food and fertiliser as the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 100th day. 

In a statement on Friday, the organisation said Awad spoke to journalists in Geneva from Kyiv, Ukraine.

He said the UN is working to release grains stuck in Ukraine’s black seaports and fertiliser from Russia, adding that negotiations are ongoing to see if the blockade of ports will be reversed so that export of fertiliser and food items can resume.

“The negotiations are going on. There are a lot of details and shuttling between Moscow and other countries that have concerns and the negotiations continue. But there’s no clear-cut emerging solution right now because it’s a board of puzzles that they have to move it together,” Awad said.

He also said they are working “with other financial institutions and the West in general to see how Russia can really, as far as transactions are concerned, resume”.

“Around 1.5 billion people are in need of that food and fertilizers around the world. I really hope that the negotiations really go in a smooth manner and be concluded as soon as possible so that the blockade of ports and the resumption of export of fertilizer and food takes place, before we have another crisis in hand,” he said.

“Today, at least 15.7 million people in Ukraine are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Numbers are rising by the day as the war continues, and with winter around the corner, the lives of hundreds of thousands are in peril.”

He added that although humanitarians have explored different ways to transport grain from Ukraine across the world, the only viable solution is by sea, given the huge amount of cereals and other essential foodstuffs produced.

“The five million tonnes a month, that’s 100 ships a month. The rail transportation or trucking could not manage the same volume and were fraught with logistical problems, so, it really has to be a maritime movement to export 50 to 60 million tonnes of food out to the world,” he added.