Chad’s government has declared a state of emergency. The African country decided this because it cannot import enough wheat because of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The military government of the poor Sahel country emphasizes that the food situation has deteriorated extremely since the beginning of this year. The country is pushing for international aid.
About a third of Chad’s 16 million inhabitants will depend on international aid for food this year, according to the United Nations (UN).
Ukraine and Russia are among the largest exporters of wheat in the world. African countries import half of their wheat. The UN warned early May that global food aid could be jeopardized by the war in Ukraine.
To make matters worse, parts of northern and eastern Africa are being hit by an exceptional drought.
“We also have to deal with extreme weather in the Netherlands, but that is much more extreme in Africa,” a spokesperson for the Red Cross told NU.nl. “The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is exacerbating the food crisis in Africa as it halts exports to the affected African countries.”
Millions of children are at risk of malnutrition
More than ten million children, mainly in the Horn of Africa and South Asia, are threatened by acute malnutrition, UNICEF reported in mid-May.
The ongoing drought, the war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the corona pandemic are the main causes, according to the UN children’s organization. In addition, donations are declining worldwide, said UNICEF against NU.nl.
The International Red Cross says it needs more than 37 million euros for aid in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. On Thursday, the emergency aid organization had raised around 11.5 million euros worldwide. More than three tons of it came from The Netherlandsthe Dutch Red Cross reported.
Senegalese President Macky Sall will speak on Friday in Sochi, South Russia, with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about the food crisis in Africa.
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