The World Food Programme On Friday, called for the reopening of ports in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa so that food produced there can freely travel across the world.

“Right now, Ukraine’s grain silos are full. At the same time, 44 million people around the world are marching towards starvation. We have to open up these ports so that food can move in and out of Ukraine,” WFP chief David Beasley said in a statement.

“The world demands it because hundreds of millions of people globally depend on these supplies,” he said.

“I urge all parties involved to allow this food to get out of Ukraine to where it’s desperately needed so we can avert the looming threat of famine,” he said.

With ports blocked because of the war, millions of tons of grain are stored in silos in Odessa and other Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

If the ports are not reopened, Ukrainian farmers will have no place to store the next summer harvest, according to the WFP, leading to a major food waste.

According to the World Food Programme, 276 million people were already suffering from acute hunger at the start of 2022, and this number is likely to climb by 47 million if the crisis in Ukraine continues, with the biggest increases occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Rome-based agency, most of Ukraine’s food was shipped through the country’s seven Black Sea ports before to the war.

According to the World Food Programme, 276 million people were already suffering from acute hunger at the start of 2022, and this number is likely to climb by 47 million if the crisis in Ukraine continues, with the biggest increases occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the Rome-based agency, most of Ukraine’s food was shipped through the country’s seven Black Sea ports before to the war.