My name is Flávio Ismael, and I come from Mozambique, a country with 33 million inhabitants located in the southeast of Africa, near South Africa and with access to the Indian Ocean along its entire coastline.
My country has been at peace since 1992, for 31 years, thanks to the work of the Community of Sant’Egidio, which facilitated the end of a 16-year-long civil war that killed over 2 million Mozambicans. After the war, we had to face another humanitarian emergency, AIDS, which has claimed millions of African lives, not only in my country.
Fortunately, with the help of programs like the DREAM Program by the Community of Sant’Egidio and support from organizations like the World Bank, PEPFAR, the Global Fund, and others, we have been able to overcome this crisis.
Today, in Africa, it’s possible to live with AIDS as a chronic illness rather than an emergency.
However, humanitarian crises in Africa continue, from conflicts between nations to civil wars, severe episodes of violence, and terrorism, such as the civil war in Ethiopia, conflicts in the Central African Republic, Sudan, recent coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea Conakry, and Gabon.
Since 2017, the northern part of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado province, has suffered violent attacks by Islamic extremists. This region is rich in natural resources, with significant gas deposits, rubies, and other precious minerals. These attacks, aimed at seizing the resource-rich land, have not only caused hundreds of deaths but also forced thousands of women, men, and children to flee. Approximately 900,000 internally displaced Mozambicans seek safety near the city of Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province, in the neighboring province of Nampula and in refugee camps set up for them.
These conflicts, along with COVID-19, the Ukraine-Russia war, and political instability, exacerbate hunger, famine, and vulnerability among populations, not only in my country but across the continent.
Added to this context is the phenomenon of climate change, one of the major challenges Africa has been facing for several years. While the environmental crisis is a global emergency, it is even more pronounced in Africa. Although Africa contributes less to global warming, it is the region most exposed to its negative effects. According to the “State of the Climate in Africa” report (2021), temperatures in the continent continue to rise, reaching unsustainable levels for the population. Global warming has been faster in Africa than the global average, with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees celsius in some countries. This poses the risk that much of the continent may become uninhabitable in the coming years, further reducing the GDP of already impoverished African countries.
Climate change violently affects Africa with cyclones, droughts, locust invasions, and other increasingly frequent phenomena that destroy crops, homes, and increase poverty and hunger.
In March 2019, Mozambique was struck by a powerful cyclone that devastated the city of Beira and caused destruction and loss of life. Cyclone IDAI destroyed or damaged 90% of the city’s homes, causing significant loss of human lives and entire villages. Even today, hundreds of people live in displacement camps in deforested and isolated areas, relying on tents or makeshift huts for shelter. They have lost their livelihoods and depend on aid with no prospect of returning home.
In 2023, Cyclone Freddy, one of the strongest recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, hit Malawi hard, particularly the southern region and the city of Blantyre. The strong winds and incessant rains caused devastating damage, with floods, landslides, and inundations submerging entire villages. 500 people died, hundreds are missing, and 500,000 are homeless. The cyclone struck just weeks before the harvest, destroying crops and livestock in the southern districts. Until the next harvest, life conditions for many families will be harsh, and the specter of hunger increases day by day.
Sant’Egidio is deeply involved in food distribution in refugee camps and remote villages affected by climate crises. In Mozambique and Malawi, we manage nutritional centers for thousands of malnourished children, some of whom are orphans, others come from very poor families. Recently, in one of these centers, where we welcome children aged 5 to 14, a child arrived carrying two younger siblings, one aged 2 and the other aged three, asking to share his plate with them because they hadn’t had food at home for several days. I
In the year 2000, all nations of the world, within the United Nations framework (Millennium Development Goals), committed to reducing poverty by half by 2015. In reality, this challenging goal was not achieved; in fact, world hunger increased after a century, especially in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a grim reality, with the highest percentage of malnourished people, approximately one in four according to recent UN estimates. Among the countries where the percentage of malnourished people exceeds 35%, the top three are in Africa. After COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russia war, the prices of consumer goods have increased tenfold, making it even difficult for families to buy bread. We are witnessing a significant impoverishment of families that until a few years ago had no survival issues, and at the same time, the number of children, elderly people, and the sick who seek food is growing rapidly.
According to FAO estimates, every year, 1.3 billion tons of food are lost or discarded worldwide, including 88 million within the European Union. This amount equals 50% of global wheat production and a third of the entire production destined for human consumption. Food waste is a major contradiction in a hungry world.
Poverty is widespread in modern Africa, with about 40% of African countries ranking at the bottom of all major national wealth rankings, such as those based on per capita income or per capita GDP, despite often having substantial natural resources. In the list of the 50 least developed countries in the world compiled by the UN, 23 positions are occupied by African countries, which contradicts the significant resources exported to the West.
Malawi, one of the poorest countries, is a major producer of sugarcane. However, there is often a total lack of sugar in the markets because it is entirely exported to the West. The solution: we must bring food to where there is none and, above all, ensure that African countries can independently produce the food they need.
Under the surface of the thirstiest continent, there are vast water reserves. Yet, 300 million Africans lack access to clean drinking water. The African subsoil is rich in water. The real problem is accessing it. When children arrive at our nutritional centers, their first request before eating is for three or four glasses of water. Unfortunately, the hunger and water shortage emergencies in Africa seem to be forgotten by the global world. Globalization brings economic and cultural dominance of the single-minded profit mindset, especially over poor countries. The World Food Program (WFP) should be strengthened, not depleted, as is happening now, along with efforts to combat food waste and prevent entire human groups from sinking into hunger and poverty. We also need to promote agriculture that values biodiversity, doesn’t harm the land, and addresses the issue of land grabbing that takes land away from agricultural production. Based on my experience with Sant’Egidio’s AIDS care work in ten African countries, I have seen how WFP food aid effectively complements care in countries like Mozambique, Kenya, Guinea Conakry, Tanzania, and the Central African Republic, where HIV patients are often malnourished. Food is crucial, especially for malnourished children.
The fate of African food in recent years concerns all of us. It's time to pay attention to the issue and raise awareness of its urgency, a duty we must take on immediately. Even in complex times, a small spark of hope is always helpful.
We need more solidarity and cooperation. Humanitarian emergency actions must be allowed whenever crisis situations occur, and access to needy populations cannot be limited or defined by warring states or parties; it is a right of those in need and a duty for all. There are no right or wrong categories; there are only people in need of support who should be welcomed and helped.
We need more holistic European policies for humanitarian emergencies that always involve Africa and African youth, who should not and must not be forgotten.
How do we explain to young people that their countries are rich, yet their wealth is not enough to feed them? How do we explain that their land, being more fertile and having all available water resources, cannot produce more than they consume to feed themselves? Are we different beings? What is the difference? Opportunities?
Young people want to overcome the "normality" of humanitarian emergencies they are accustomed to living with. They don't want and won't accept this situation for their children and future generations. They don't choose to emigrate; they don't want to live off food, basic goods, and other support offered to them. They want a dignified life, quality education, decent jobs. They want to produce their own food, goods, and necessities. They want to be doctors, teachers, engineers. They want their Africa.
In recent years, there has been a migration crisis from Africa to the European Union, where thousands of Africans are dangerously and often fatally attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkans. This migration is mostly undertaken by young people who represent the elite of the African population. Their goal is survival, escaping crises (political, economic, health), and seeking better conditions, often not for themselves but for their children, families, and future generations. Many of my fellow countrymen, including women and children, never reach the land and die at sea, often because a helping hand is unwilling to be extended.
We need to do more; we need everyone—Europe, America, Asia, all of you, everyone, but with a new approach, to truly free Africa and build healthy and prosperous African societies with solutions tailored to their culture, dignity, and a better world where everyone has opportunities and is important.
The West can accelerate the development of African countries by focusing on African youth through peace education, promoting inclusive gender policies, providing access to land and the financial system, and transferring knowledge in techniques and technologies for materials production and building resilient infrastructures.
Solidarity is urgently needed. We need more of Sant'Egidio. We must step out of our comfort zone and reach out to others. There are no continents or countries; there are people, and we have less and less time to extend a helping hand.
To this end, I would like to appeal to everyone individually and collectively for deep reflection. It's time to change and prioritize the values of life, solidarity, humanism, and equity. It's time for more global actions with long-term impact. Only then will we have a better world, especially for everyone.
We need to start on new foundations to avoid wasting the opportunity of this global crisis, to turn it into a new beginning and not a story of degradation or, worse, one that separates us from each other. Our responsibility lies here, both as individuals and as a community of people of different faiths.
Let's start together!
Thank you for your attention.
Let's stay united!