United Nations humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday that 48 million people in West and Central Africa face severe food insecurity in the next months, a 10-year high brought on by instability, climate shocks, COVID-19, and high prices.
As a result of rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall, both West and Central Africa have been facing higher risks. This shortage of food and fertilizer is also caused as a result of war in Ukraine.
According to a regional food security analysis provided by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), humanitarian organization OCHA, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and children’s agency UNICEF, 48 million people are anticipated to go without regular access to safe and nourishing food during the shortage period of June to August.
The struggle of nations like Mali and Burkina Faso, which are located in the semi-arid Sahel area, south of the Sahara Desert and are waging war against an Islamist insurgency that has resulted in thousands of deaths and around 2.5 million displaced people, is a contributing factor in this.
According to the agencies, a record 45,000 people in the Sahel are anticipated to experience catastrophic hunger, a situation that is just short of famine.
According to Alexandre Lecuziat, senior emergency preparedness and response advisor for the WFP, fighting has shut off food delivery routes in sections of the Sahel, as well as other conflict hotspots near Lake Chad and in the Central African Republic.
Robert Guei, the FAO’s Sub-Regional Coordinator for West Africa, said, “It is time for action to boost agricultural production to achieve food sovereignty in our region.”
