By Panu Wongcha-um
Over 30 million people are set to be plunged back into poverty worldwide due to the repercussions of the war in Iran, said Alexander De Croo, UN development chief, on Thursday.
Fertilizer shortages worsened by the blockage of merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz have already lowered agricultural productivity, according to the administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), as reported by Reuters.
This is expected to impact agricultural yields later in the year, added Alexander De Croo, former Belgian prime minister.
“Food insecurity will reach its peak in a few months – and there is not much that can be done to remedy it,” he said, also listing other consequences of the crisis including energy shortages and a decline in remittances.
“Even if the war ended tomorrow, these effects are already in place, and they will push more than 30 million people back into poverty,” he stated.
A significant portion of global fertilizers are produced in the Middle East, with one-third of global supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz, currently closed and contested by Iran and the United States.
Earlier this month, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and UN World Food Programme warned that the war in the Middle East would drive up food prices.
De Croo mentioned that the crisis had already caused a loss of about 0.5% to 0.8% of global GDP.
“What takes decades to build can be destroyed in eight weeks of war.”
The conflict is also putting humanitarian efforts to the test, as funding decreases and needs rise in regions already facing serious emergencies, such as Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine.
“We will have to tell some people: ‘We are truly sorry, but we cannot help you,'” noted Alexander De Croo.
“People who survive thanks to aid will no longer be able to rely on it and will find themselves in an even more precarious situation.”
(Authored by Panu Wongcha-um; French version by Etienne Breban, edited by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
