UNITED NATIONS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley on Thursday warned the Security Council that Yemen is heading toward the biggest famine in modern history.

"Just two days ago, I was in Yemen, where over 16 million people now face crisis levels of hunger or worse. These aren't just numbers. These are real people. And we are headed straight toward the biggest famine in modern history. It is hell on earth in many places in Yemen right now," the WFP chief told the Security Council open debate via videoconference on conflict and food security.

"Around 400,000 children may die in Yemen this year without urgent intervention. That is roughly one child every 75 seconds. So, while we're sitting here, every minute and a quarter, a child is dying. Are we really going to turn our backs on them and look the other way?" Beasley said.

"To add to all their misery, the innocent people of Yemen have to deal with a fuel blockade ... The people of Yemen deserve our help. That blockade must be lifted, as a humanitarian act. Otherwise, millions more will spiral into crisis," said the WFP chief, who, in December 2020, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the WFP for its efforts to combat world hunger.

Speaking of conflict and hunger, Beasley said that man-made conflict is driving instability and powering a destructive new wave of famine that threatens to sweep across the world.

"The toll being paid in human misery is unimaginable. So, I want to thank the secretary-general for his leadership in trying to avert these famines," he said.

Beasley stressed that these looming famines have two things in common: they are primarily driven by conflict, and they are entirely preventable.

"The cycle of violence, hunger and despair pulls in more and more individuals and families as the weeks and months pass. But the potential consequences are truly global: economic deterioration, destabilization, mass migration and starvation," he explained.

"Beyond the immediate crisis, we also need to invest in peace, so that in the future, desperate families are not forced to the brink of survival by the bullet and the bomb," said Beasley.

"The costs of this violence are immense: just in 2019, 14.5 trillion U.S. dollars a year - 15 percent of global GDP. It would take a fraction of this money to fund the development programs that could transform the lives of people in fragile, conflict-scarred nations - and help lay new pathways to peace," the WFP head said.