THE global food crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine will kill millions by leaving the hungriest more vulnerable to infectious diseases, potentially triggering the next health catastrophe in the world, warned the head of a major aid organisation.

A Russian naval blockade of the Black Sea ports in Ukraine stopped grain shipments from the fourth-largest exporter of corn and wheat in the world, raising the spectre of shortages and hunger in low-income countries.

The knock-on effects of the food shortages mean many will die not only of starvation but from having weaker defences against infectious diseases due to bad nutrition, said Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria this week.

“I think we have already begun our next health crisis. It is not a new pathogen, but it means people who are poorly nourished will be more vulnerable to the existing diseases,” he said, on the sidelines of a G20 health minister meeting in the Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

“I think the combined impact of infectious diseases, food shortages and energy crisis… we can be talking about millions of extra deaths.”

World governments should minimise the impact of the food crisis by providing frontline healthcare to their poorest communities, who will be the most vulnerable, said the British ex-banker who now heads the US$4 billion (RM17 billion) fund.

“That means focusing on primary healthcare. Hospitals are important, but when you are faced with this kind of challenge, the most important thing is primary healthcare.”

‘Disaster’

The battle to contain the spread of the coronavirus has taken resources away from the fight against tuberculosis, which killed 1.5 million people in 2020, according to World Health Organisation data.

“It has been a disaster for TB,” said Sands.

“In 2020, you saw, globally, 1.5 million people less getting treated for TB and, tragically, that means several hundreds of thousands of people will die… (and) infect other people.”

The health expert said solving the food crisis is paramount in aiding the treatment of the second-deadliest infectious disease in the world.

The West and Ukraine accuse Russia of trying to pressure them into concessions by blockading vital grain exports to increase fears of global famine.

Moscow countered by saying that it is Western sanctions that are to blame for shortfalls in the Africa and Middle East.

Germany will host a meeting on the crisis tomorrow, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken among those attending.

“It is the poor person pandemic and because of that, it has not attracted the same amount of investment in research and development,” said Sands, referring to tuberculosis.

“This is a tragedy because this is a disease we know how to prevent, how to cure, how to get rid of.” – AFP, June 23, 2022.