Muslim countries facing hunger, malnutrition due to political instability, climate change

Political instability and climate change are the biggest causes of hunger and malnutrition in Muslim countries, said Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) head Yerlan A. Baidaulet.

Quoting a UN report, Baidaulet said half the countries facing hunger and malnutrition are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a Muslim bloc of 57 member states.

He was speaking to Anadolu on the sidelines of a 3-day summit at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome.

Due to instability and climate change, many countries in the OIC geography are facing challenges, said Baidaulet.

"And we heard about the military coup in countries like Burkina Faso and Mali … And you know the situation developing now in Sudan. There is instability in many countries of the Muslim world."

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is also another issue affecting Muslim countries, said Baidaulet.

"For example, yesterday, I met the minister of agriculture for Tunisia. He told me that the country was producing about 14-15 million tons of wheat every year. Unfortunately, due to climate change, due to water scarcity, due to all issues especially hot weather, this year, only 2.5 million tons of yield is expected," he added.

The population is increasing but food is decreasing, said Baidaulet.

'TÜRKİYE PLAYING IMPORTANT ROLE IN FOOD SECURITY FOR MUSLIM COUNTRIES'

Noting that there are many countries that support their work, he said: "We have to mention our host country, Kazakhstan, we have to mention Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and again, I would like to emphasize the continuous support from the Republic of Türkiye."

"Türkiye is playing a very important role in the field of food security for Muslim countries. And we hope that our cooperation will be strengthened year by year," he said.

"We hope that in coming years, our relation will be stronger. We feel this strong commitment from the Government of Türkiye and the president, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan," he concluded.

One of the eight specialized institutions of the OIC, the IOFS focuses on the development of agriculture and rural development with a primary focus on widespread food scarcity and food security of the member states.