49M people live in more than 20 hunger hotspots worldwide

More than 20 countries in the world were labeled “hunger hotspots”, as they are vulnerable to deterioration of acute food insecurity due to conflicts and natural disasters, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme (WFP) in their outlook “2022 Global Report on Food Crises” over the period from June to September 2022.

“An all-time high of up to 49 million people in 46 countries could now be at risk of falling into famine or famine-like conditions, unless they receive immediate life and livelihoods-saving assistance. This includes 750,000 people already in catastrophe,” the report said.

The 20 hotspots are Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, the Sahel region, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Kenya, Sri Lanka, West African coastal countries (Benin, Cabo Verde and Guinea), Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Angola, Madagascar and Mozambique.

Hunger as it was defined by the United Nations is the lack of food or deprivation of food that is less than 1,800 calories per day.

The report attributed the reason for hunger to the inaccessibility of humanitarian aid to the hunger-stricken areas, lack of rains, high prices of food commodities, conflicts, and displacement. The report also put into consideration the factor of the increasing population like in Yemen, where 161,000 people are vulnerable to deterioration of food security.

Countries that are vulnerable to the acute food insecurity due to organized violence and conflict risks are the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, northern Nigeria, northern Mozambique, central Sahel, Somalia, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine and Yemen, the report said, adding that over a three-month period between January and March 2022, the total number of violent events in these countries increased to 3,807. In three Arab countries - Syria, Somalia, and Yemen - wars forced an estimated 37 million people to risk hunger, according to the report. 

Meanwhile, natural hazards caused people in Afghanistan, large parts of Somalia, southern and eastern Ethiopia, and eastern Kenya to suffer from acute food shortages, and in South Sudan, lack of rain was another reason, in addition to the violence in this country. Insufficient rainfall was also recorded in Western Africa, Benin, and Guinea. 

“In the Middle Belt and southern regions of Nigeria, the latest forecasts indicate an increased likelihood of below-average rainfall, which could reduce yields and result in crop losses, with a potential impact on food prices, northern parts of Nigeria and large parts of the Sahel are expected to see average to above-average rainfall with good prospects for crops, but also an increased risk of localized flooding. In Cabo Verde, the July to October rainy season is also expected to be below average,” the report read.

Southern Madagascar, southern Mozambique and parts of Zimbabwe suffer from drought, which consequently affected the people’s food security.

Economic risks are the third factor, as the slowdown in the world economy, especially for the developing countries, could cause a food insecurity crisis because of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, as well as the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.