ROMA – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)comprising the countries of the Horn of Africa, in its latest Global Food Security Report highlights a deepening crisis across the region that includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. The report highlights a dangerous and steady increase in acute hunger over the past five years and calls for greater, more focused efforts to address humanitarian needs.
The main results emerging from the dossier. The research reveals that approximately 62.9 million people, or 25% of the population analyzed in the seven countries listed above, are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity as of the beginning of 2024. This figure is up from 61.9 million in 2023 and only underscores the critical nature of the situation and the need for immediate action. In Sudan, for example, famine is already underway in the Zamzam camp in North Darfur, while thirteen other areas are at risk. “We are seeing the fifth consecutive year of worsening food security in the so-called IGAD region. It is clear that a shift is needed: from emergency responses to an approach that anticipates and mitigates climate-related impacts,” comments the coordinator of the FAO for East Africa, Farayi Zimudzi. For whom today we must focus on making greater efforts to build peace, since the impact of conflicts throughout the region but particularly in Sudan is leading to hunger and malnutrition.
The cause. Frequent climate fluctuations and extreme weather events contribute significantly to regional food insecurity. The most severe impacts for the entire region so far are the severe droughts that affected the Eastern Horn of Africa in the three years from 2020 to 2023 and, in contrast, the recent floods due to The Child. The lack of water and rain has had a negative impact on agricultural production and livestock while floods have destroyed the few available stocks. In addition to the climate factor, which is currently the most important and also the most difficult to contain without significant humanitarian interventions, other causes have been added, ranging from currency depreciation to inflation to the volatility of global food markets.
And there are 25 million displaced people. In addition, the displacement crisis in the region has reached unprecedented levels, with 25 million people having to abandon their homes and villages in the first half of 2024. In particular, the ongoing conflict in Sudan has caused the flight of 7.9 million people since April 2023, making it the world’s largest internal displacement crisis to date. “The conflict in Sudan has triggered the world’s largest food crisis, with more than half the population struggling to put food on their plates every day. Violence and insecurity have pushed millions of people to seek protection both in their own countries and in neighbouring countries, which are also struggling with high levels of food insecurity and instability, and this is putting even more pressure on limited humanitarian resources,” explains Rukia Yacoub, Deputy Regional Director of the World Food Programme for East Africa.
What is acute food insecurity?. It is the condition in which a person is unable to easily access food and livelihoods. Acute food insecurity is determined using internationally recognized measures, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). It should not be confused with chronic hunger, which is reported annually in the United Nations report on the state of food security and nutrition in the world. Chronic hunger occurs when a person cannot access enough food for a prolonged period, preventing them from maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.
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– 2024-08-27 18:59:12
