Tripoli, April 29: The UN Security Council’s political chief has urged for immediate action to prevent a food crisis in Libya following a closed door meeting.
B. Lynn Pascoe has announced that immediate actions have to be taken to improve the flow of commercial goods, including food stocks and provisions, a Media correspondent reported.
According to the UN, people currently have access to food, but officials say they are trying to get ahead of the curve to stave off the real possibility of severe food shortages a month or two from now.
“Libya is at risk of a full-blown food security crisis within the next 45 to 60 days,” UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq stated.
Ships have been able to come and go from the eastern port city of Misratah for the most part — with a ship chartered by the UN World Food Program bringing some 500 metric tons of provisions.
According to Libyan officials, the exodus of some 500,000 foreign laborers since the start of the conflict has added to the problem, as thousands worked in food production such as bakeries that now struggle to stay open.
Ambassador Nestor Osorio of Columbia — in his last day as Council president — reacted pessimistically to Undersecretary Pascoe’s briefing.
“The problem is that we haven’t seen a real positive step towards a political solution,” Osorio stated.
With revolutionaries locked in a bloody struggle against the loyalist forces of Muammar Gaddafi, it’s getting more difficult to bring in enough provisions to feed the country — and the UN says the situation is growing dire.
——–Agencies