With the emergence of Corona pandemic, which put several functional activities at the global level on a standstill, concern has emerged about means to keep hunger at bay in a world rampant with all forms of violence caused mainly by hunger and loss of opportunities that turn the world into a place unsuitable for an honorable and respectable life.
His Holiness Pope Francis has repeatedly set off alarm bells warning of the severe consequences of weather changes that would affect all walks of life and mostly unleash waves of hunger in various parts of the world.
He has earlier sent a message to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on the occasion of the UN Pre-Summit on Food Systems, which took place in Rome from the 26-28 July in which he warned that this important meeting “highlights how one of our greatest challenges today is to overcome hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in the era of COVID-19.”
It is actually a challenge that can only be overcome when all parties gather forces and try to find plausible solutions. The Pope denounced the “scandal” of hunger in a world that has all the means to overcome this serious problem.
The gist of Pope’s message is what is also needed is a “new mindset and a new holistic approach and to design food systems that protect the Earth and keep the dignity of the human person at the center that ensure enough food globally and promote decent work locally; and that feed the world today, without compromising the future.”
Actually what is needed at the moment is to engage in genuine and courageous dialogues that address the roots of the prevailing unjust food system. What is astounding at the moment is that there have been reports by various sources stating that several countries in the world are actually drifting towards hunger.
With hunger in the offing, the world will definitely be shoved into an arena of instability leading to further violence, wars, crimes and insecurity.
In his Encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis makes a worldwide wake-up call to help humanity understand that the destruction that man is rendering to the environment and his fellow man has a far-reaching effect. The document looks at the many philosophical, theological, and cultural causes that threaten the relationships of man to nature and man to each other in various circumstances.
The core of the problem lies in the damage inflicted by man through various acts, including deforestation and industrial activities that emit dangerous gases among others. These factors have inflicted damage, which is irreversible sometimes, and wreaks havoc in our universe which is the home of humans for thousands of years.
These destructive impacts of climate change have caused unpredictable floods in Europe and other parts of the world that resulted in the death of thousands of people and caused drought in other parts of the world which consequently decreased farming output and spiked hunger cases.
Despite the fact that COVID-19 poses considerable risks to already vulnerable populations living in countries that suffer from severe development deficits as well as limited government capacity and poor healthcare infrastructure, it is important to launch safety-net systems that can help stem the negative economic and nutritional impacts of COVID-19, which caused the global economy to slow down or fall into recession, thus exacerbating extreme poverty and hunger.
In light of this, it is time to grasp Pope Francis' remarks on hunger and view the impending disaster of famine that is lurking next door.
