By Matik Kueth
Millions in conflict-ridden regions, including Palestinian territories, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali, face extreme food shortages and famine risks, warns a new United Nations report issued jointly by the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday. The report highlights a crisis fueled by dwindling emergency aid, economic instability, and escalating climate-related disasters, putting vulnerable populations at severe risk of acute food insecurity.
“Immediate, scaled-up intervention is needed to prevent further deterioration in these already vulnerable regions,” the report said.
The UN aid organizations stated that within the next six months, severe food insecurity is expected to worsen in 16 “hunger hotspots” in 14 countries and two regions.
These countries, include Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Mali, and the Palestinian territories, remain at the “highest concern level. Chad, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen are classified as “hotspots of very high concern,” where large numbers of people are facing critical levels of acute food insecurity.
The UN agencies cautioned that “War and armed conflict remain the main causes of hunger in many hotspots, upsetting food systems, uprooting populations, and impeding humanitarian access.”
According to the report, the conflict in Sudan is likely to expand, “driving mass displacement, resulting in famine levels likely to persist and the number of people in catastrophic conditions to increase and that will further aggravate the regional humanitarian crisis, resulting in increased cross-border movements to neighboring countries, primarily Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.
Image of some livestock that died in an African drought area [Photo courtesy]
The ongoing conflict in Lebanon is worsening acute food insecurity and increasing the demand for humanitarian aid, while extreme climate events have added Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, and Niger to the latest hunger hotspots, according to the report. Weather extremes and rising climate unpredictability are further aggravating severe food insecurity in many regions.
“La Niña, a natural climatic phenomenon that affects worldwide weather and is characterized by cooler ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, is predicted to last until March 2025 and have a major effect on temperatures and rainfall patterns,” it stressed.
“While La Niña may enhance agricultural prospects in some areas, it also increases the risk of flooding in parts of Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” it added.
According to the UN agencies, further famine and fatalities are anticipated in Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali unless there are “immediate humanitarian efforts and concerted international action” to address the dire situation and promote the de-escalation of conflicts.
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