Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUN / CONFLICT FOOD INSECURITY
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: UN / CONFLICT FOOD INSECURITY
TRT: 04:29
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 NOVEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations
17 NOVEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Med shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Armed conflict drives acute food insecurity in 14 of 16 hunger hotspots worldwide. Last year, 295 million people faced acute hunger - 14 million more than the year before. The number of people experiencing catastrophic hunger have more than doubled to 1.9 million.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations:
“This is the new arithmetic of conflict: when food systems are attacked, weaponized, the impact is global. Food itself has become a weapon. Through deliberate starvation tactics, which we are seeing all too often, including recently in Gaza. But also, through the systematic destruction of agricultural systems.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations:
“And in a spiral of death, we continue to invest in military expenditure rather than putting and end of hunger. The world’s total military expenditure over the past decade, estimated at $21.9 trillion, yet ending hunger by 2030 costs much less - $93 billion per year.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We cannot and must not accept these examples as the new normal. The hunger-conflict nexus is a strategic and existential threat, and this Council must treat it as such.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs / Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“Humanitarian action is also essential to prevent and address hunger in conflict. When humanitarian access is denied, hunger and malnutrition rise - often with devastating consequences for civilians. Conflict parties must allow the rapid and unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief and ensure humanitarians have the freedom of movement needed to carry out their work.
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“Around the world, nearly 673 million people still go to bed hungry. In Africa, 307 million men and women and children lack of sufficient food. In Asia, the number rises to 323 million, while in Latin American Caribbean, 34 million face under nourishment.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“Just in the past year, the Famine Review Committee has confirmed Famine on three separate occasions: twice in Sudan (December 2024 and November 2025) and once in Gaza (August 2025). This marks the first time that Famine - driven by conflict - has been confirmed more than once in a single year.”
17. Wide shot, Security Council
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“But we can all agree waiting for a Famine to happen to take decisive action is far too late. In both Sudan and Gaza, the IPC had already issued early warning signals, calling for immediate action to prevent the worst outcomes. These warnings were delivered in two ways: first, by projecting (or forecasting) famine within a defined future period based on the most likely scenario; second, by issuing “risk of Famine” statements grounded in alternative worst-case scenarios. These warnings offered a critical window of opportunity – first, for humanitarian diplomacy to secure access to affected populations; and second, to respond to critical needs before conditions deteriorated further.”
19. Wide shot, Security Council
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Special Envoy for Food Systems, African Union:
“Malnutrition alone drains over $25 billion annually from African economies. Without urgent action, millions more will face catastrophic hunger, and entire regions risk irreversible decline.”
21. Wide shot, Security Council
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President, Sierra Leone:
“Our Continent holds 60 percent of the world’s arable land, the youngest population, and the greatest potential for innovation in sustainable agriculture. What we need is not sympathy, but solidarity — to unlock Africa’s power to feed itself and to help feed the world.”
23. Wide shot, Security Council
UN Deputy Secretary-General said, “Food itself has become a weapon.”
Addressing the Security Council today (17 Nov) Amina J. Mohammed said, “Armed conflict drives acute food insecurity in 14 of 16 hunger hotspots worldwide. Last year, 295 million people faced acute hunger - 14 million more than the year before. The number of people experiencing catastrophic hunger have more than doubled to 1.9 million.”
She also said, “This is the new arithmetic of conflict: when food systems are attacked, weaponized, the impact is global. Food itself has become a weapon. Through deliberate starvation tactics, which we are seeing all too often, including recently in Gaza. But also, through the systematic destruction of agricultural systems.”
She highlighted, “And in a spiral of death, we continue to invest in military expenditure rather than putting and end of hunger. The world’s total military expenditure over the past decade, estimated at $21.9 trillion, yet ending hunger by 2030 costs much less - $93 billion per year.”
She stressed, “We cannot and must not accept these examples as the new normal. The hunger-conflict nexus is a strategic and existential threat, and this Council must treat it as such.”
Joyce Msuya, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs said, “Humanitarian action is also essential to prevent and address hunger in conflict. When humanitarian access is denied, hunger and malnutrition rise - often with devastating consequences for civilians. Conflict parties must allow the rapid and unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief and ensure humanitarians have the freedom of movement needed to carry out their work.
Máximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said, “Around the world, nearly 673 million people still go to bed hungry. In Africa, 307 million men and women and children lack of sufficient food. In Asia, the number rises to 323 million, while in Latin American Caribbean, 34 million faces under nourishment.”
He reported, “Just in the past year, the Famine Review Committee has confirmed Famine on three separate occasions: twice in Sudan (December 2024 and November 2025) and once in Gaza (August 2025). This marks the first time that Famine - driven by conflict - has been confirmed more than once in a single year.”
He highlighted, “But we can all agree waiting for a Famine to happen to take decisive action is far too late. In both Sudan and Gaza, the IPC had already issued early warning signals, calling for immediate action to prevent the worst outcomes. These warnings were delivered in two ways: first, by projecting (or forecasting) famine within a defined future period based on the most likely scenario; second, by issuing “risk of Famine” statements grounded in alternative worst-case scenarios. These warnings offered a critical window of opportunity – first, for humanitarian diplomacy to secure access to affected populations; and second, to respond to critical needs before conditions deteriorated further.”
Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems said, “Malnutrition alone drains over $25 billion annually from African economies. Without urgent action, millions more will face catastrophic hunger, and entire regions risk irreversible decline.”
Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone said, “Our Continent holds 60 percent of the world’s arable land, the youngest population, and the greatest potential for innovation in sustainable agriculture. What we need is not sympathy, but solidarity — to unlock Africa’s power to feed itself and to help feed the world.”
