Lack of grain supplies - Chad declares state of emergency
Released on 03.03.
Have you heard?
You can now have your messages read out to you. Simply click the play icon on any article or add the post to your personal playlist via the plus icon and listen to it later.
Listen to article:
African countries import almost half of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia. But in the course of the war, the deliveries stopped. Chad is now declaring a food emergency.
NDjamena.
Central African Chad has declared a food emergency due to a lack of grain supplies in the wake of the Ukraine war.
The food situation has deteriorated extremely since the beginning of the year - international humanitarian aid is available urgently needed, said the military government. According to the United Nations, 5.5 million people in Chad - a third of the population - will be in need of food aid this year.
The statement came hours before African Union President Macky Sall plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi to call for the lifting of the export blockade on grain and fertilizer.
Ukraine and Russia are the worlds largest wheat exporters. According to the United Nations, Africas 03 countries import almost half of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia. Russia is also a major fertilizer supplier to a dozen African countries.
Chad is one of many countries in the Sahel region facing a hunger crisis. The Horn of Africa, most notably Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia, is facing its worst drought since 40 years ago. According to the UN, West Africa is also on the verge of the worst food crisis in ten years. According to aid organizations, millions of people in the entire Sahel region could soon 60 starve. (dpa)
