Follow Report on hunger hotspots from the World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain the countries of highest concern.
According to the most recent assessments, all four countries have areas where people experience, or are expected to experience, famine and death (IPC Stage 5), requires the most urgent attention.
The report shows that the link between hunger and conflict is complex and far-reaching. In fact, many people WFP supporters are fleeing conflict and are being forced to give up their lands, homes, and jobs.
These trends are likely to continue in Myanmar, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Sahel, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, northern parts of Ethiopia, Nigeria and Mozambique.
Climate and food prices
Another worrying trend is the impact of extreme climates. For WFP and FAO, Climate change “is no longer a glimpse of the future, but a daily reality of communities around the world.”. ”
This has been seen in Haiti, East Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, and more recently in the western Badghis region of Afghanistan.
At the same time, post-pandemic economic challenges persist and will continue to drive food prices higher.
Despite a slight decline in mid-2021, world food prices have remained elevated since May 2020, with the regions of greatest concern being the Near East, North Africa and Central and East Asia.
Restrictions on humanitarian access and complex security environments continue to pose challenges to operations in Ethiopia, Mali, northern Nigeria, Niger and Syria, and potentially in the Republic of China Africa and Colombia.
South Sudan
In South Sudan, one of the four countries with highest concern, conflict and limited humanitarian access, the impacts of COVID-19 The pandemic, economic challenges, and rising food prices, are making the situation worse.
Communities have also faced severe flooding that has caused widespread displacement, damage to agricultural production, devastating livelihoods, and existing complex problems in many regions.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, insecurity and high rates of inflation are exacerbating severe food insecurity.
The situation is most worrying in the conflict-affected Borno State, where some 13,500 people are forecast to fall into catastrophic food insecurity if humanitarian and livelihood-building interventions fail. be maintained.
Ethiopia
There are no updates for Ethiopia as of the July-September 2021 forecast, when experts conclude that 401,000 people in the Tigray region will likely face a famine-like situation. For agencies, this lack of data is a serious concern.
The level of acute food insecurity may have increased and may be higher than the Emergency and Disaster levels identified in the final report.
Yemen
Famine is also on the rise in Yemen due to a toxic mix of conflict and economic decline. As a result, half of Yemeni families are currently consuming less food than they need.
The cost of a minimum food basket at government-controlled agencies has more than doubled. This decline is due to the fact that foreign currency reserves are almost exhausted, making food imports more difficult.
An increase in humanitarian assistance between April and July 2021 helped stabilize levels of food security, but key indicators showed a decline in the second half of the year.
Alarm elsewhere
A child being screened at a clinic in South Sudan, by © UNICEF / Helene Sandbu Ryeng
The report also outlines the situation in Afghanistanwhere projections show a record high number of people facing food insecurity.
There is also a serious risk that part of the population will face starvation and death (IPC Phase 5) if the crisis is not contained.
There are 22.8 million Afghans facing severe food insecurity. By March, 8.7 million of those are expected to be severely food insecure (IPC Stage 4), more than double the same time last year and the highest record for the whole country.
The Horn of Africaan area already at risk of food insecurity, is now facing the third season ofdroughtpromoted by La Niña.
In Ethiopia, Kenya and SomaliaIn the worst-affected countries, projections suggest that food insecurity will rise above the region’s already high levels by mid-year.
inside Sahel, The weak rainy season has seriously affected the growth of crops and grasslands.
More than 10.5 million people are forecast to be at crisis level or worse (CH Stage 3 and above), a 20% increase from last year.
