ORGni day we scroll videos of inviting recipes on social media. But what happens if a video suddenly blocks? Annoyance, disappointment, maybe even a racing motion. We can afford it, this is our world, made of tutorials and induction kitchens, dinners with well -structured friends and menus. A world of light years away people who live in conditions of food insecurityand they are millions of people in the world (25.6 in Sudan, 22 in Ethiopia). In their case, a recipe on Instagram was not interrupted: humanitarian aids were cut globally, with very serious consequences. On this provocative comparison, the UNHCR initiative “Kitchen for Life” was built, which involves some of the best known Italian chefs. From Francesco Apreda to Barbara Agosti, but also Cristina Bowerman, Luciano Monosilio, Roy Caceres and Cesare Battisti.
The initiative supports the “let’s return to hear” campaign, which aims to raise funds to offer protection and assistance to refugees and displaced people in Sudan, South Sudan, Chad and Ethiopia (to donate: https://sostieniunhcr.it/campagna-torniamo-a-25). In these countries, millions of refugees and displaced people live in conditions of acute food insecurity.
Let’s go back to hear of UNHCR and the consequences of cuts to humanitarian aid
According to the global report on food crises (GRFC), acute food insecurity in Sudan affects 25.6 million people, 22 million in Ethiopia. But the situation has worsened. During this year The drastic cuts to funds for humanitarian aid led to the reduction if not to thezzeration, from one day to the other, of food rations.
Almost 1 million Sudanese refugees In fact, they risk not receiving any food assistance anymore, 500 thousand displaced people in Sudan that they no longer have access to water, toilets and medical assistance.
In Ethiopia Four of the seven nutritional services for refugees were closed, putting 80 thousand children under five under five at risk of severe malnutrition. In Chad there is only one doctor every 52,000 patients and 14% of children are malnourished, the daily supply of water is only 5 liters per person, well below the international standard of 15-20 liters for the basic daily needs. This serious deficiency forces families to make impossible choices that put their health and dignity at risk.
If Cristina Bowerman’s recipe stops on the most beautiful. UNHCR’s campaign to stop hunger
To take a position publicly against the cutting of aid and to sensitize people on the importance of solidarity, the gesture of the top chefs. Video-icets that stop abruptly at the highlight of the preparation. Only with the contribution of the public can the recipe be completed, as well as only with collective solidarity can food and assistance be guaranteed to those who flee from conflicts and which is serving the catastrophic consequences of the cuts to humanitarian aid.
Sudanese women and girls are the main victims of this forgotten conflict, between sexual violence, forced displacements, hunger and lack of health services (Getty by AFP)
“The cuisine is imagination, but also commitment to others,” explains Bowerman. “My ‘false pizza’ of Deca Rapa It is a creative exercise, but today I want it to become A gesture of consciousness. In too many areas of the world, such as Sudan and neighboring countries, cuts in humanitarian aid are leaving millions of people without food, without care, without protection. I chose to stop my recipe to remember that the only thing we cannot afford to cut is solidarity. We support the ‘let’s hear’ campaign campaign on UNHCR.it: Each donation is a way to stay human ยป.
Despite the cuts, UNHCR is present on the field where its work of assistance and protection of refugees and displaced people continues. But the resources are dramatically insufficient: the regional humanitarian response plan for Sudan is financed only at 15%, everyone’s help is needed.