1. Food Security for Humanity: Challenges & Opportunities
Ms Amita Marwha
Lecturer
Isabella Thoburn College
7, Faizabad road, Lucknow
ladys3074@gmail.com
Abstract:
Purpose – Drawing on both classic and modern work, I propose to find out the major humanitarian
food crisis that has occurred due to man made causes such as civil wars, ethinic conflicts in different
part of the regions in the world. Major sufferers are children and infants. Due to failure in experiment
in social changes and development mass hysteria has developed among masses which are heavily
burdened by state but does not profit from countries boom give rise to conflicts in which major
proportion of the population generally end up as refugees in the countries with almost little or no
excess to food and drinking water.
Design/Methodology/approach- A case studies of ten different countries facing serious refugee
crisis was developed.Secondary data will be used to show its economic implications especially food
insecurity as a result it requires serious discussion.
Findings- The economic repercussions of these civil wars and ethinic conflicts are huge.both for the
country where these conflicts are undergoing and for the country who takes these refugees economic
costs are huge. Prolonged episodes of this social unrest, strikes, civil wars often compromise
economic activities and political implications takes time to become fully visible.

2. Research limitation and implication-The accuracy of the findings depend upon the authenticity of
the source and information used in analyzing secondary data.
Practical implications-The result of this finding will help economists, research workers, sociologists
understand the grave problems that exist under our very nose and is creating a humanity crisis and
also importance and impact of these refugee crisis in changing and deciding world politics today.
Originality Value-This study is of its first kind which will establish the economic impact and its co-
relation with political ramifications of these refugee crises which put a big question mark on United
Nations millenium goals of providing food security world over.
Key Words - Economic ramifications, political implications, civil wars, food insecurity, internally
displaced people.
Paper type-Research Paper

3. Food Security for Humanity: Challenges & Opportunities
I
Introduction
According to Craig Pearson1
the root cause of food insecurity, is quite simply, that food production
and food distribution do not meet the need of world population.underneath this simple statement
there are multiple causes that are pushing humanity to these deplorable conditions ranging from
poverty and population growth to declining agricultural production, land degradation, clmate change,
urbanizations, water shortages, diversion of cropland.Are these the only threats to humanity? When
children dies due to malnutrition, hunger, epidemics, when rape occurs as a part of systematic and
organized effort to dehumanize an opponenet class, ethnicity, colour, class and religion, when
millions becomes homeless, forced to live in the condoitions that are so deplorable and demeaning
that humanity has to bow its head in shame.then the question arises what are they losing? What
should be done to prevent these kinds of horrors?
Modern Day Threats to Humanity
According to Sabina Alkire2
“The objective of Human security is to safeguard the vital core of all
Human lives from the pervasive threats, in a way that is consistent with a long-term human
fulfillment”.Institutions that undertake there protection should be strenthened at all cost.Human
security is a condition that results from an effective political, economic, social, cultural and natural
environment and not from executing a set of administrative procedures.We are destroying that vital
core of Humanity if we fail to protect the rights and freedoms in the vital core pertaining to
1
Professor and director of Melbourne sustainable society institue, university of Melbourne Australia.
2
Sabina Alkire;Centre for research on Inequality,Human security and ethnicity,CRISE,2003:University of oxford

4. survival,livelihood and most important Basic Human Dignity.We can never insure human rights if
we failed to safeguard human dignity.Human security concept was first appeared in UN Human
development Report from 90’s.In his book entitled –‘Human Security :Paradigm shift or Hot Air?'
Roland Paris3
has given a matrix with one axis that distinguishes studies concerned exclusively with
military threats from studies of non militry security threats such as economic deprivation or
environmental crisis.The other axis distinguishes studies that concieve of the state as the appropriate
unit of analysis for security studies from studies of security for societies, groups and
individuals.Deprivation, inequality, poverty all are pervasive threats to Human security.if the vital
core of human dignity is challenged then the masses are forced to take extreme actions of the
situations they are fear full off.Implementing institutions which are gennerally assigned this task of
assuring human security generally prove to be a failure due to their small size,capacity in the
developing world.What is the source of security threat?
Military Non military,military,Both
3
Paris, Roland (2001)”Human Security: Paradigm Shift or Hot Air?’International Security 26(2), 87-102.
National
security
Redefined
security
environmen
tal and
economic
security
Inter state
security
Civil
war,ethinic
conflict
Human
security
Environme
ntal and
economic
threats

5. Source: Paris, Roland (2001)”Human Security: Paradigm Shift or Hot Air?
Section II
COUNTRIES FACING ACUTE FOOD SHORTAGES DUE TO REFUGEE CRISIS
 Lebonan- Due to Syrian Refugees
World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim said that Lebanon was facing a serious economic crisis due to
the presence of large numbers of Syrian refugees. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon
currently registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees currently stands at
1.1 million—around one quarter of Lebanon’s population—although the actual figure is reported
to be much higher. Due to worsening civil conflict, 6.3 million people are estimated to be facing
severe food insecurity. Although some international food assistance is provided, the Syrian
refugees are also putting strain on other countries in the region.
The majority of Syrian refugees arriving in Lebanon are living in extreme conditions. They are often
fleeing out of desperation. Many have lost a family member, witnessed extreme acts of violence or
been the victims of such acts. Many have come from relatively comfortable lives, having enjoyed
good services in Syria and relative stability over the last 20 years. Yet they have arrived in Lebanon
with only the possessions they can carry. Many are living in tents, with only the most basic of
water and sanitation facilities. They have been freezing over the winter, and are now sweltering in
the summer. Those living in rented accommodation are often paying extremely high rents, forcing
several families to co-habit, sometimes as many as 20 people sleeping in a room together. Many of

6. these refugees have lost any sense of stability and community, and are striving to establish a new life
in an unfamiliar location. They do not know when, or if they will be able to go home.4
Conflict in Syria-background
On 15 March 2011, protesters gathered in the Syrian city of Deraa following the claimed detention of
several youth who had been writing anti-government graffiti. Three days later, with the protests
gathering momentum, fighting broke out, resulting in the death of several people. These events
sparked a significant escalation in the unrest already bubbling across the country. The following
months saw a gradual increase in violence between government forces and protesters. By the
end of 2011, the violence had spread across the whole country, with roughly 10,000 people
reportedly killed. The year 2012 saw a significant escalation in the scale and brutality of the conflict.
The conflict has increasingly been portrayed as having taken on a sectarian divide, with both sides
appearing to be receiving significant support from groups both within and from outside of the
country. This has allowed both sides to become entrenched. Few people predict an end to the conflict
any time soon.
Syria- Economic Cost of civil war
Tourism-most
damaged sector
since the
protests began
Accounts for 12% in GDP and directly
contributes 10% of the employment
Foreign Direct Several Persian gulf and foreign
4
UNDER PRESSUREthe impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on host communities in Lebanon; July 2013
World Vision Lebanon and WVUK RR-HA-02

7. investment companies have announced their plans to
cancel investment in Syria
Budgetary
Deficit
Bashar Assad issued a decree increasing
monthly salaries and wages by 1,500
Syrian lira ($30), in addition to a 30%
increase for monthly salaries under
10,000 lira ($200) and a 20% increase for
salaries at or above 10,000 lira. The
government also reduced fuel prices by
25% to aid citizens’ purchasing power and
counter negative effects of the inflationary
pressures accompanying the protest
wave.
The cost of these measures,
which were not anticipated in
this year’s fiscal law, is
estimated at more than 2% of
GDP. This means the budget
deficit will expand and could
surpass 8% of GDP unless tax
revenues — and economic
activity — rise.
Devaluation of
currency
The Syrian lira has also recorded a drop in
its value versus the dollar, falling up to
15% at times. There has also been an
increase in currency trading in the
unregulated (black) market.
Staistics and Facts-Magnitude of the Humanitarian Crisis within Syria

8. Staistics and Facts-magnitude of the Humanitarian risis in Lebanon
The recent sinking of a refugee boat bound for Australia off Java, which had 68 Lebanese on
board, highlights the complexity, magnitude and reach of the Syrian civil war.The international
focus has tended to be on the refugees, but the impact on host countries also demands attention.
All of Syria’s neighbours - except Israel - have been affected by the flow of refugees which, in
The population of
Lebanon is
estimated to be a
little over 4.3
million
Even by the most
conservative
figures, the number
of refugees
currently in the
country has swelled
by more than 12%
in little over a year.
When we factor in
400,000 Palestinian
refugees, the true
scale of the crisis
facing Lebanon
becomes apparent.
By these
(conservative)
estimates, almost
25% of the people
in Lebanon today
are Refugees
93,000 have already been killed
in syrian conflict.
6.8 million people in need of
humanitarian assistence.
4.25 million are displaced within
syria and over 2 million are
refugees in the neighbouring
countries.
The number of refugees that
have already arrived from Syria
In Lebonan is around
525,00013.
Syria Has A
Population Of
22.5 Million

9. the case of Lebanon, has raised fears for the survival of the state. The issue is not just
humanitarian. It is highly political as well.
Lebanon is particularly vulnerable to the pressure from refugees. It is a fragile state that lacks
effective administration. The country has been operating under a caretaker government since
March, largely because of an ongoing domestic political crisis.The situation in Lebanon has
reflected deeply divided politics, a stalemate between the main political actors, extensive foreign
intervention and the precarious regional security situation. But to its great credit, Lebanon has
maintained an open border policy for Syrian refugees.
This has meant that the country has found itself host to more than one million Syrian refugees,
with around 50,000 new registrations each month. In addition, 55,000 Palestinian refugees from
Syria have registered with the UN Relief and Works Agency. Syrian refugees now represent the
equivalent of 25% of the total Lebanese population of around four million. The influx of such
numbers would present a fundamental challenge to even the most organised of political systems.
Economic cost for Lebanon due to Syrian refugees

10.  Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is one of several Sahel countries deep in a years-long drought that has claimed
thousands of lives and left millions battling for survival. This year, more than 20 million people
in the region are facing food insecurity, and 5 million children are malnourished. A massive
influx of refugees from Mali has put additional pressure on local food supplies. About 50,000
Malian refugees are estimated to be living in the country as of November 2013. Mostly in
Oudalan and Soum provinces of the northern Sahel region, which has been already facing food
insecurity and high malnutrition rates.
The country’s budget deficit reached around A$1.89
billion in April this year
refugee crisis, which, according to the World Bank,
has cost Lebanon over A$7.75 billion .
The resulting challenges manifest in various ways. For example, when Lebanese public schools
opened this October, they were expected to provide educational opportunities for refugee
children. They were able to find places for 100,000 school-aged refugees but a further 100,000
missed out. This has long-term implications for the students’ development and has led to
increased delinquency and crime in some areas.

11. Tuareg refugees at Mentao South camp in northern Women and children displaced from Mali shelter under a tent.
Burkina Faso: Source: The Guardian.
Mali Internal Conflict- Background
In January 2012, armed conflict broke out in Mali when Tuareg separatists and an Islamic
militant group linked to Al Qaeda took control of large areas of northern Mali. As of early 2014,
nearly 450,000 Malians were still displaced, with roughly 50,000 living as refugees in Burkina
Faso. Since 2012, Malian refugees have been granted prima facie refugee status by the
Government. Some 60 per cent of them live in three consolidated refugee camps, namely Sag-
Nioniogo, Goudoubo and Mentao. Nearly 20 per cent of the refugees reside in host villages in
the Sahel region, 13 per cent are hosted in five spontaneous sites, Dibissi, Deou, Gorom-Gorom,
Ouyigouya and Tin Hedja, and the remaining stay in Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou.
Malian refugees live in a challenging environment, affected by successive famine and droughts,
extreme heat, violent winds and rain.
Refugee site Population in Burkino Faso- Total Refugee Population-49,975 (13,577 Household)
Camp Sites Out of camp
refugees
Mentao Camp Goudoubo
camp
Urban
refugees
Sag-
nioniogo

12. No.of
refugees
17,077 16,546 10,363 3,159 2,830
Source: UNHCR
Thousands in Burkina Faso are currently suffering from the food crisis affecting the broader
Sahel region, and this has been exacerbated by the influx of refugees from neighbouring
Mali.The acute malnutrition rate in Burkina Faso is already above 10% and is expected to rise up
to 19% due to the Sahel food crisis. In northern Burkina Faso, there is a 90% cereal deficit and
the acute severe malnutrition rate is predicted to go up to 5% by September, according to the
country’s Minister of Health. “We have now 257,000 refugees from Mali who are going through
an enormous level of suffering and deprivation,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
António Guterres, during a visit to the Damba camp, which is home to some 1,200 Malian
refugees, in northern Burkina Faso.
 Chad
Influx of refugees (over 467 000 people from the Sudan’s Darfur region, the Central African
Republic and northern Nigeria) and the return of an estimated 350 000 Chadians have put
additional pressure on the local food supply affecting food security.
Sudan’s Darfur Inter Ethinic War-Background
First, between 2003 and 2005, most of the violence in Darfur involved attacks by largely Arab,
government-sponsored militias against non-Arab groups that were systematically regarded as
supporters of the rebellion. The militias were largely recruited from the abbala (camel-herding)
groups of North Darfur and were pejoratively nicknamed ‘janjaweed’.7

13. Second, after the signing of the DPA in 2006, Arab groups turned increasingly against the
government, and even more so against each other. Between 2008 and 2010, most of Darfur’s
violence appears to have been generated notably between abbala and baggara (cattle herders) of
South Darfur.
A third phase has emerged as Arab groups have become more reluctant tofight on behalf of the
government, notably due to the violence they themselves suffered in 2008–10. As a result, the
government has shifted to forming and backing non-Arab militias for its counter-insurgency strategy.
This approach, which exploits the existing grievances of eastern Darfur’s non-Arab tribes (such as
the Bergid, Berti, Mima, and Tunjur) against the Zaghawa—who are systematically labelled ‘rebels’
by local and national authorities—created unsustainable tensions and finally ignited an extended
cycle of violence that began in late 2010.5
Food crisis in Chad refugee camps.
The International Federation estimates that more than a third of local people are undernourished.
That is a higher ratio than in the camps. In fact, during a distribution of a calorie-rich supplement
to more than 3,500 children, and pregnant or breastfeeding women in six villages around the
camps in May, two severely malnourished children were discovered.There is a competition of
limited resources between locals and refugees.
 Yemen
The number of refugees in Yemen currently makes up around 8% of the country’s entire
population of about 25 Million.The severely food-insecure population in need of emergency
5
Gramizzi and Tubiana.(2010) Forgotten Darfur: Old Tactics and New Players: Published in Switzerland by the Small
Arms Survey

14. food assistance is estimated at 4.5 million people, 18 percent of the population, as a result of high
levels of prolonged conflict, poverty, and high food and fuel prices. There are close to 2 million
foreign refugees living in Yemen, according to statements made by Yemeni President Abed
Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Most of them come from Somalia and Ethiopia and only 250,000 of them
are officially registered as refugees. In 2012, about 107,000 refugees flowed into Yemen, while
from January to May 2013, 29,000 arrived, according to the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) in Yemen. In addition to non-Yemeni refugees, there have been waves
of displaced Yemenis beginning in 2004 because of the Saada war in the north. [These waves]
then intensified in Abyan in the south starting in 2011, following the outbreak of the state’s war
against al-Qaeda.
 Democratic Republic of Congo
 The number of people in need of food assistance was estimated in December 2013 at about 6.7
million, with 5 percent increase compared to June 2013. The areas most affected by severe food
insecurity (IPC phase 4: Humanitarian Emergency) are the conflict affected Maniema, Oriental
and Katanga provinces. As of late December 2013, the total number of IDPs6
was estimated at
more than 2.9 million, with a 12 percent increase compared to June 2013. In addition, since early
2013, the DRC has received about 53 000 refugees from the CAR (Centrel African republic), and
about 120 000 returnees who were expelled from Angola. Due mainly to the ongoing instability
in the eastern part of the country, about 450,000 refugees from the DRC remain in neighbouring
countries, particularly Burundi, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. By
contrast, in 2012 and 2013, over 100,000 refugees were assisted to return from the Republic of
6
Internally Displaced People.

15. the Congo (Congo). In 2014, UNHCR anticipates facilitating the voluntary return of 36,000
refugees to the DRC, again from the Congo.7
 Liberia
Liberia’s 14-year civil war produced several waves of refugees who at one point numbered over
700,000. Liberians who fled their home lost their refugee status last year. The UN has helped
repatriate 155,000 people since 2004 .Slow recovery from war related damages, inadequate
social services and infrastructure, poor market access and presence of some 58,000 Ivorian
refugees in the country (as of January 2014) result in the need for continued international
support.Registered refugee population in liberia is 37,929 from which household are 12,181.
Section III
Conclusion
Social unrest not only threatens political, but also economic stability. Especially prolonged
episodes of social unrest be it in the form of strikes and protests or, civil war, often
compromise economic activity. Moreover, deteriorating business environments deter
investors, while riots and wars can also cause physical damage to production plants. Finally,
international sanctions, as a result of unrest, can further add to economic costs. Of course, there
are also the more accepted economic effects of protests which come in the form of direct
economic costs, also more peaceful protests could prove expensive, if they succeed in delaying
7 2014 UNHCR country operations profile - Democratic Republic of the Congo

16. or even discontinuing the various, much-needed1 austerity measures. It is increasingly clear
that the institutions of yesterday are inadequate for the challenges of tomorrow. Multinational
corporations bent toward the myopia of quarterly returns are ill-fit for extended periods of
volatility and turbulence. Centralized governments, with an opacity built in to ensure secrecy,
cannot keep pace with the speed-of-light communications of 21st Century internet-based and
mobile technologies. They must be opened up and redesigned with agility and integrity as
guiding principles.
What is needed now is nothing less than the wholesale redesign of civilization. Our banking
institutions must be reconnected to the thriving of human communities. Our schools and
universities must cultivate a creative resilience that enables massive-scale innovation. Our
businesses must produce positive social impacts alongside healthy revenues. And our
governments must successfully provide the supports through which well-being is sustained
and spread across the entirety of nations, cities, and villages.
This schematic captures the essence of what is needed:

17. This concept of bridge-building across paradigms was developed by the Berkana Institute.8
On the left is the old paradigm with its food production, governance, commerce, and civic
capabilities. As these old systems continue their decline it is absolutely essential that people
remain in them as Stabilizers of the Old. Teachers must continue to educate our youth.
Farmers must continue to grow our food. Utility companies must continue to protect us
against the elements. And so on.
At the same time, there is a vital role for social innovators! These Creators of New Systems will
design hybrid organizational forms that combine the economic strengths of for-profit
companies with the social values and integrity of non-profit missions. They will decentralize
energy production and invent clean technologies. And they will build the integrative
institutions of government, education, and civil society that are capable of evolving in the
complex ecosystems of our 21st Century planet.
Yet, another vital role is that of Bridge Builders for Transition. Those who can translate the
new paradigm into the operational settings of legacy organizations will create new job
categories that enable the stabilizers to keep paying their mortgages and put their kids through
college while increasingly directing their productivity toward resilient design.
Are you a stabilizer who seeks stability and order for our chaotic world? Or perhaps a social
innovator whose creativity the world so desperately needs? Or is your place in the transitional
management of people who lack a bridge across the divide?
8
Toward the Global Transition — 2012 and Beyond In Economic Patterns, Global Integration, Social Change on January 27, 2012 .

18. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all
times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”
Food security is built on three pillars:
 Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis.
 Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.
 Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate
water and sanitation9
.
Given the turbulence that we have seen in the past so many years in terms of protests ,I think
it’s a warning signals of the storms that have been brewing from ages now between haves and
haves not .Arab spring ,wall street protests are just a tip of the ice berg. Macroeconomic
indicators are just figures and they do not feed the hundreds of thousands of hungry people.
The basic problem of the above crisis and food shortage is limited resources available to large
section of the problem and few countries have abundant resources and do not have that much
mouth to feed. World can not and should not turn a blind eye towards these crisis as they have
rebound effect.thus the questions that has to be asked are :
 How can the overall economic gains from trade benefit those who are most likely to be
suffering from food insecurity?
 Do gains “trickle down” to enhance economic access to food for the poor?
 Most important question we need to ask is how and in what ways we can assure basic human
Dignity to a large world population reeling under abject poverty,depriviation ?
1. 9
http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/

19. References
 Alkire ,Sabina(2003);’A conceptual framework for Human Security’Centre for research on
Inequality,Human security and ethnicity,CRISE,2003:University of oxford
 Gramizzi and Tubiana.(2010) Forgotten Darfur: Old Tactics and New Players: Published in
Switzerland by the Small Arms Survey
 King.Gary and Christopher Murray (2001) “Rethinking Human Security’political science
quarterly 116(4), 585-610.
 Paris, Roland (2001)”Human Security: Paradigm Shift or Hot Air?’International Security 26(2),
87-102.
 Pearson, Craig: Professor and director of Melbourne sustainable society institue, university of
Melbourne Australia.
 Toward the Global Transition — 2012 and Beyond In Economic Patterns, Global Integration,
Social Change on January 27, 2012
 UNHCR(2014) country operations profile - Democratic Republic of the Congo
 UNDER PRESSURE (july 2013)the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on host communities in
Lebanon; July 2013
 World Vision Lebanon and WVUK RR-HA-02.
 http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/