The UN has warned that the food insecurity situation is expected to increase with 18 hotspots, involving 22 countries, mainly in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, during the forecast period from June to November 2023.
In a statement, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program warn that Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen remain at the highest level of concern. Haiti and the Sahel region (Burkina Faso and Mali) and Sudan were brought to the same level.
This situation is the result of “severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods in Haiti, as well as in Burkina Faso and Mali, and the recent outbreak of conflict in Sudan”.
All of these points have populations facing or at risk of famine, according to the UN, calling for the most urgent attention to these countries
Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria are classified as points of “very serious concern”, and the alert is also extended to Myanmar in this edition.
In all of these countries, large numbers of people will face critical food insecurity in the coming months.
Since the last edition of this report in September 2022, Lebanon, Salvador and Nicaragua have also been added to the list of hungry places.
Malawi, Guatemala and Honduras remain countries critical of hunger.
“The worsening of acute food insecurity in famine hotspots is occurring in the context of a global food crisis,” the document said, highlighting the case of Sudan, where recent conflict “marks a new peak at the global level” and neighboring countries could meet. .
On the other hand, the UN expects the global economy to slow down in 2023, driving up credit costs despite a year of reduction in international food prices, but which is not reflected in domestic prices, also due to low foreign exchange reserves. in many countries and reduced donor aid by limiting imports.
The report also warns of extreme weather events, such as heavy rains, tropical storms, cyclones, floods, droughts and increasing climate instability, with a strong influence of “El Niño” between May and July 2023.
“Impacts on production remain critical. Cyclone Mocha left a trail of devastation in Myanmar in May 2023, with families in many districts losing significant ‘stores’ of food and livelihoods,” he describes.
The UN is urging urgent and comprehensive assistance in all 18 hotspots to protect livelihoods, improve access to food and prevent further worsening of acute food insecurity and malnutrition.
The report also points out that humanitarian aid is limited in several countries due to organized violence or conflict, the presence of administrative or bureaucratic obstacles and restrictions on the movement of people.
Source: DN
