As food systems in many countries teeter on the edge of collapse, your editorial (7 July) on the global toll of the cost of living crisis is a timely reflection. Since the war in Ukraine began, we have seen disastrous effects on global food prices and availability – particularly in the Middle East and east Africa, where millions are already facing the first-hand impact of the climate crisis with a once-in-a-generation drought and ongoing economic setbacks from Covid-19.
Countries such as Somalia were already inching closer to famine before the war in Ukraine started. Now the war has added fuel to the fire, driving global price increases and supply shortages that are threatening to push millions of people toward starvation and poverty.
