The conflicts, extreme weather events and economic crises continue to push more and more communities into starvation, reveals a new report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Program (PMA) published this Monday.
The study warns that acute food insecurity could increase in magnitude and severity in 18 parts of the world, bringing to 22 the number of countries with hungry populations.
The FAO and WFP Urge immediate international action to save lives and livelihoods in places where acute hunger is expected to worsen from June to November of this year.
immediate interventions
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said the world can not continue on the same path if it truly seeks food security for all, ensuring that no one is left behind.
“We must get going immediate and urgent agricultural interventions to help those on the brink of starvation rebuild their lives, as well as find long-term solutions to address the root causes of food insecurity,” Qu said.
He added that it should also invest in disaster risk reduction in the agricultural sector to increase the resilience of communities.
For her part, the executive director of the WFP pointed out that today not only are more people in more parts of the world suffering from hunger, but the sharpness of hunger is worse than ever.
“This report is clear: we must act now to save lives, help people adapt to climate change and prevent famine. If we don’t, The results will be catastrophic.” stressed Cindy McCain.
The boy
According to meteorologists, there 82% chance El Niño is expected in mid-2023, which would have worrisome implications for several hotspots.
He Dry Corridor of Central America it would be one of the areas that would suffer with below average rainfall, and extreme events would also reach parts of the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
The conflict in Sudan
The crisis in Sudan has caused massive population displacements and famine between those who have had to leave their homes in search of refuge and those who take them in, the report said, adding that more than a million people would flee the country, while another 2.5 million people inside Sudan will face acute hunger in the next few years. next months.
Sudan was already hosting more than a million refugees, and if the conflict persists, hundreds of thousands are likely to return to their home countries, many of whom are already struggling with protracted and underfunded refugee crises, compounded by problems social, political and economic.
Supply routes for commercial and humanitarian goods to and from Port Sudan are disrupted by insecurity, jeopardizes emergency aid flows and regional relief efforts. Disruptions to trade, cross-border trade activities, and supply chains are also likely to drive up prices and deplete foreign exchange reserves in a number of countries, particularly South Sudan, a country that is also dependent on Port Sudan for commercial imports. , humanitarian and oil.
The report warns that displacement to neighboring countries and disruptions to trade can also cause tensions between displaced people, hosts and new arrivals, as many hard-hit countries are already dealing with significant numbers of displaced people competing for limited livelihoods and work, particularly in Chad and South Sudan, where fragile sociopolitical environments could deteriorate.
Socioeconomic risks
Among the socio-economic risks, the publication mentions the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the war in Ukraine.
Remember that for This year a global economic recession is projected amid monetary tightening in high-income countries, which will increase the cost of credit, weaken local currencies, and further exacerbate the debt crisis in low- and middle-income economies.
He adds that world food prices will remain high in the coming months and that the decrease in purchasing power negatively affect families’ access to food in the coming months in many “hot spots”.
Maximum alert
FAO and WFP maintain Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen at the highest hunger alert level, while Haiti, Burkina Faso, Mali and Sudan They were elevated to the highest level of concern.
All of the higher level “hotspots” have communities facing or at risk of famine or catastrophic conditions. These places require the most urgent attention, the report warns.
UN agencies also list “hotspots” with large numbers of people facing acute food insecurity, along with factors that would exacerbate their precarious conditions in the coming months El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
