The UN said food shortages have increased in 8 countries where war and conflict occurred, and 56 million people need emergency food aid.

According to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization report, approximately 56 million people need emergency food aid in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Congo Democratic Republic, South Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and Chad Lake Basin.

The situation in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Yemen worsened in the latter part of 2018 largely because of conflict, while Somalia, Syria and the Lake Chad Basin have seen some improvements in line with improved security.

In total, around 56 million people are in need of urgent food and livelihood assistance across the eight conflict zones.

"This report clearly demonstrates the impact of armed violence on the lives and livelihoods of millions of men, women, boys, and girls caught up in conflict," FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva states in the report foreword.

"I would strongly encourage you to keep in mind that behind these seemingly dry statistics are real people experiencing rates of hunger that are simply unacceptable in the 21st century," he said.

The UN Security Council's Resolution 2417 is an unambiguous condemnation of starvation as a tool of war. It calls on all parties to armed conflict to comply with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law to minimize the impact of military actions on civilians, including on food production and distribution, and to allow humanitarian access in a safe and timely manner to civilians needing lifesaving food, nutritional and medical assistance. 

"The millions of men, women, and children going hungry as a result of armed conflict will not be reduced unless and until these fundamental principles are followed", the report states.

Yemen's three-year war is a stark demonstration of the urgent need for a cessation of hostilities to address the world's largest food security emergency.  In its country analysis, the report states that conflicting parties disregarded the protected status of humanitarian facilities and personnel which made scaling-up operations to prevent famine a difficult and dangerous endeavor. (ILKHA)