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Two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the conflict there is still dominating headlines amid frantic efforts to get aid into war-ravaged areas. But there also are alarming levels of need in other parts of the world that get far less attention – and the crisis in Ukraine is making them worse.
Tufts University food security expert Daniel Maxwell spotlights multiple factors that he warns could create or worsen famine in poor countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. They include reduced grain exports from Ukraine and Russia, high energy prices and a global relief community that’s overstretched and underfunded. “The people of Ukraine deserve all of the attention and help that they are receiving,” Maxwell writes. “But I believe the global community must not lose sight of humanitarian suffering in the rest of the world.”
Also today:
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Distributing flour rations and other food supplies in southern Yemen on March 29, 2022.
Saleh Al-Obeidi/AFP via Getty Images
Daniel Maxwell, Tufts University
Grain and fertilizer shortages, higher shipping costs and a strong dollar are all pushing food prices up and increasing hunger in dozens of vulnerable countries.
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Politics + Society
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Neil Roberts, Williams College
By slapping Chris Rock during an internationally televised awards ceremony, Will Smith demonstrated that chivalry is not dead. But was that the protection Jada Pinckett Smith wanted or needed?
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Ethics + Religion
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Aseem Hasnain, Bridgewater State University; Abhilasha Srivastava, California State University, San Bernardino
Several US universities now recognize caste as part of nondiscrimination policies. Two scholars of South Asian studies explain how caste-based violence isn’t limited to Hinduism, or to India.
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Science + Technology
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Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London
We may be besieged by private companies in online spaces, but only up to a point.
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Karen Shapiro, University of California, Davis; Emma Zhang, University of California, Davis
Normally land-bound pathogens that cause deadly diseases for both humans and animals can cling to microplastics and end up in your seafood.
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Economy + Business
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Steven Kreft, Indiana University; Elham Mafi-Kreft, Indiana University
Two scholars of corporate do-goodery suggest a hidden driver of corporate decisions to leave Russia is the global trend in which record numbers of workers are quitting their jobs.
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Nolan Higdon, California State University, East Bay
Media ownership has consolidated around a handful of billionaires – and that might not be great for democracy.
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Environment + Energy
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Eve Darian-Smith, University of California, Irvine
A new book lays out the connections between industries and politicians that are both stalling action on climate change and diminishing democracy.
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