ADDIS ABABA: UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday said food must not be used as a weapon of war as world leaders gathered for a food summit in Africa, where 280 million people face hunger and starvation.

The African Union, for its part, urged donors to provide greater support for the world’s poorest continent, which is struggling with poverty, unrest and the effects of climate change.

“Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war,” Antonio Guterres told the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa via video link.

“Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains and humanitarian aid,” he said.

“Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond,” he warned amid a severely deteriorating crisis in Gaza, whose population of more than two million is facing famine and malnutrition.—AFP