130 million people may find themselves on the verge of starvation — UN: UGCC responds to the disaster

He stressed that hunger is "an outrage in a world of abundance," and also warned that the problem of hunger is increasing.

"At a time when 130 million people are at risk of being on the verge of exhaustion by the end of 2020, the World Food Programme continues to play a vital role as a supplier of food and nutrition, as well as the source of hope," Guterres wrote.

The World Food Program is the largest humanitarian organization under the auspices of the United Nations, which fights hunger and promotes food security.

Last year, 135 million people suffered from acute hunger, the highest number in recent years. Most of them suffered famine due to wars and armed conflicts. The committee notes that last year the programme helped approximately 100 million people in 88 countries suffering from hunger and food shortages.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people who will suffer from hunger is growing, in particular in Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, where armed conflicts are also being waged.

"Food is the best vaccine against chaos until we get a medical vaccine," the World Food Program said.

As RISU has reported, Pope Francis declared November 15 the day of the poor and called for helping such people. This initiative will continue for the next few months.

The UGCC has announced an indefinite action "Feed the Poor".

"We are not talking about a one-time case, but about activating this type of social service in our parishes as a whole. In other words, the gathering will be carried out permanently and indefinitely. Likely, the issue of nutrition and ensuring the basic needs of our people will be one of the big social challenges this winter and next spring," said the head of the UGCC, Patriarch Sviatoslav.

According to him, food banks will be formed at each parish before the Day of the Poor. He added that many UGCC parishes in Ukraine are already doing this, and a whole movement has already formed in western Ukraine.

"We ask everyone to bring food that can be stored in the temple. Cereals, pasta, butter, which could be collected and, if necessary, fed to the hungry. I want this initiative to be a specific way to show our faith in the difficult circumstances of the pandemic of late 2020," said the spiritual leader of Greek Catholics.

This initiative is ongoing in all churches of the UGCC in Ukraine and abroad.