UN says hunger will rise in 23 global hotspots in next three months

31 July 2021, 01:24

A young mother of five children shares a meal with her family at her Juba, South Sudan home (Adrienne Surprenant/PA)
Food. Picture: PA

A catastrophic situation has been predicted in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, southern Madagascar, Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria.

Hunger is expected to rise in 23 global hotspots in the next three months with the highest alerts for “catastrophic” situations in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, southern Madagascar, Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria, two UN agencies warned.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme said in a new report on Hunger Hotspots between August and November that “acute food insecurity is likely to further deteriorate”.

401,000
Number of people in Ethiopia facing starvation and death without prompt aid
UN agencies

They put Ethiopia at the top of the list, saying the number of people facing starvation and death is expected to rise to 401,000, the highest number since the 2011 famine in Somalia, if humanitarian aid is not provided quickly.

In southern Madagascar, which has been hit by the worst drought in the past 40 years, pests affecting staple crops, and rising food prices, 14,000 people are expected to be pushed into “catastrophic” acute food insecurity marked by starvation and death by September.

And that number is expected to double by the end of the year with 28,000 people needing urgent help, the two agencies said.

In a report in May, 16 organisations including FAO and WFP said at least 155 million people faced acute hunger in 2020, including 133,000 who needed urgent food to prevent widespread death from starvation, a 20 million increase from 2019.

“Acute hunger is increasing not only in scale but also severity,” FAO and WFP said in Friday’s report.

“Overall, over 41 million people worldwide are now at risk of falling into famine or famine-like conditions, unless they receive immediate life and livelihood-saving assistance.”

The two Rome-based agencies called for urgent humanitarian action to save lives in the 23 hotspots, saying help is especially critical in the five highest alert places to prevent famine and death.

“These deteriorating trends are mostly driven by conflict dynamics, as well as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,” they said.

“These include food price spikes, movement restrictions that limit market and pastoralists activities alike, rising inflation, decreased purchasing power, and an early and prolonged lean season” for crops.

FAO and WFP said South Sudan, Yemen and Nigeria remain at the highest alert level, joined for the first time by Ethiopia because of Tigray and southern Madagascar.

In South Sudan, they said, “famine was most likely happening in parts of Pibor county between October and November 2020, and was expected to continue in the absence of sustained and timely humanitarian assistance” while two other areas remain at risk of famine.

“In Yemen, the risk of more people facing famine-like conditions may have been contained, but gains remain extremely fragile,” the UN agencies said.

“In Nigeria, populations in conflict-affected areas in the northeast may be at risk of reaching catastrophic food insecurity levels.”

Myanmar
Myanmar has been added to the hotspot list (Thein Zaw/AP)

Nine other countries also have high numbers of people facing “critical food insecurity” coupled with worsening drivers of hunger, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Haiti, Honduras, Sudan and Syria, the report said.

Six countries have been added to the hotspot list since the agencies’ March report, Chad, Colombia, North Korea, Myanmar, Kenya and Nicaragua, it said.

Three other countries also facing acute food insecurity are Somalia, Guatemala and Niger, while Venezuela was not included due to lack of recent data, it said.

In Afghanistan, FAO and WFP said 3.5 million people are expected to face the second-highest level of food insecurity, characterised by acute malnutrition and deaths, from June to November.

They said the withdrawal of US and Nato forces as early as August could lead to escalating violence, additional displaced people and difficulties in distributing humanitarian assistance.

In reclusive North Korea, which is under tough UN sanctions, the agencies said “concerns are mounting over the food security situation … due to strained access and the potential impact of trade limitations, which may lead to food gaps”.

While data is “extremely limited,” they said recent figures from the country’s central bureau and an FAO analysis “highlight a worrying cereal deficit”.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’

The vehicle was later extinguished after the driver, covered in flames, emerged from the vehicle.

Amsterdam Dam Square car explosion sees driver engulfed in flames - just days after mass stabbing

d

Pictured: US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for world's most isolated tribe

The Sentinelese are a pre-Neolithic tribe that rejects contact with the modern world

US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for the world's most isolated tribe to try

The Trump administration has been ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

'No one is safe, not even the penguins': Trump administration ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

World leaders react to US tariffs

'This is not the act of a friend': World leaders react to Trump's 'unwarranted' tariffs

British couple

British couple found dead in New Zealand named - as police probe possible murder-suicide

Virginia Giuffre said she had been left with 'four days to life' after the crash

Bus driver breaks silence on Virginia Giuffre crash that left her 'with four days to live'

Foreign Secretary David Lammy

David Lammy to urge Nato allies to increase defence spending in bid to make alliance 'stronger, fairer and more lethal'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

EU threatens further countermeasures against US tariffs after 'major blow to world economy'

Lord Sugar labels Trump tariffs 'a disaster' as Apprentice star teases potential US Presidential meeting

Lord Sugar labels Trump tariffs 'a disaster' and warns that the president 'hasn't thought it through'

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations in Gaza

Israel expands ground attack on Gaza to seize 'large areas' - despite pleas from hostage families

Police said two people died on Palliser Road, Roseneath.

British couple found dead at home in New Zealand - just months after moving to 'begin new chapter'

Virginia Giuffre warned it was a "very bad situation" after she claimed a school bus ploughed into her car

Virginia Giuffre was charged with breaching restraining order days before crash that 'left her with days to live'