ROME: At a time of a record-high number of people fleeing their homes due to violent conflicts, the UN food agency said on Friday a global crisis in food supplies is causing even more migrants to cross borders.

“Each one percentage increase in food insecurity in a population compels 1.9 percent more people to migrate,” a new report by the World Food Programme (WFP) said.

In addition, 0.4 per cent more people flee a country for each additional year of conflict, it said.

Little or no access to food and other humanitarian assistance compel people to keep moving. and then they also often find due to the hardship of their journey that migration itself can cause food insecurity.

“At WFP, we are doing everything we can to care for refugees who are hungry or starving across the world,” said David Beasley, WFP executive director.

“By understanding the dynamics that compel people to move, we can better address what lies at the heart of forced migration and what must be done to end their suffering,” he said.

The WFP report includes some accounts that give a sense of the food crisis facing migrants.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2017