Pope calls hunger for millions a ‘collective failure’
“It is very sad to recall that despite technological, scientific and productive advances,” Pope Leo XIV said today at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, “673 million people in the world go to bed hungry.”
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned in a report published on Wednesday that hunger worldwide has reached “unprecedented levels,” with 319 million people experiencing acute food insecurity and 44 million in food emergencies.
In his remarks today, Robert Francis Provost described the situation as “a clear sign of public insensitivity” and a “spiritless economy.” He also criticized the continued use of food as a weapon of war in the current conflicts, calling it an “outrageous act,” while “international humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians and items essential to the survival of the population without exception.”
The United Nations officially declared a famine in the Gaza Strip earlier this year, and the World Food Program noted in its report that the number of people “at or on the brink of famine” has doubled in just two years to 1.4 million in five countries: Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, and Mali.
Calling for action to combat hunger, Pope Leo XIV said that ending the “scourge” of hunger and malnutrition is not the sole responsibility of businessmen, officials, or policymakers but “a shared struggle” involving “international organizations, governments, public institutions, non-governmental organizations, academics, and civil society.”
He added: “We must redouble our individual and collective responsibility and awaken from the deadly sleep of neglect into which we have fallen.”
The Pope stressed that achieving the goal of zero hunger is only possible with real will, not just with official declarations.
He also noted the “essential role” of women in this fight and the need to listen to the voices of poorer countries.