Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan rank among UN Hunger Hotspots
By Fatima Saka
The Hunger Hotspots Report recently released by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), says Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Yemen remain the countries of highest concern.
The report issued an early warning for urgent humanitarian action in what they described as 20 “hunger hotspots” where part of the population was likely to face a significant deterioration of acute food insecurity in the coming months, such that will put their lives and livelihoods at risk.
In Nigeria, insecurity and high inflation rates are aggravating acute food insecurity. The situation is of highest concern in conflict-affected Borno State, where around 13,500 people are projected to slide into catastrophic acute food insecurity if humanitarian and livelihood-building interventions are not sustained.
Also, in South Sudan, conflict and constrained humanitarian access, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic challenges, and elevated food prices, are worsening the situation.
Communities have also had to grapple with severe flooding that has caused widespread displacement, damage to agricultural production, the destruction of livelihoods, and compounded existing issues in many regions.
According to the report, there has been no update for Ethiopia since the July-September 2021 projection when experts concluded that 401,000 people in the Tigray region would likely be facing famine-like conditions. For the agencies, this lack of data is of serious concern. Acute food insecurity levels are likely to have increased and could further rise beyond the Emergency and Catastrophic levels already identified in the last report.
Meanwhile, to identify hunger hotspots, FAO and WFP assessed how key drivers of food insecurity are likely to evolve and have combined effects across countries in the coming months, and the related risks of deterioration.
