Abuja, Nigeria – Acute food insecurity is set to increase in magnitude and severity in 18 hunger “hotspots,” including Nigeria, a new United Nations (UN) early warning report has revealed.
The report released recently spotlighted the urgent need of assistance to prevent famine in Gaza and the Sudan, and further deterioration in the devastating hunger crises in Haiti, Mali, and South Sudan.
It also warned about the lingering impact of El Niño and the looming threat of La Niña that risked bringing further climate extremes that could upend lives and livelihoods.
It stated, “Since the previous edition of the Hunger Hotspots report (October 2023), the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Zambia have joined Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Somalia and Zimbabwe in the list of hunger hotspots, where acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further during the outlook period.”
The report found that many hotspots faced growing hunger crises and highlighted the worrying multiplier effect that simultaneous and overlapping shocks were having on acute food insecurity. It noted that conflict, climate extremes, and economic shocks continued to drive vulnerable households into food crises.
The report warned that 2023 was likely to mark the first year since 2010, in which humanitarian funding had declined compared to the previous year, but it still represented the second highest funding level ever for humanitarian assistance.
FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu said, “The daunting prospects highlighted in this report should serve as a wake-up call to all of us. We need to spearhead the shift from responding to crises after they occur to more proactive anticipatory approaches, prevention and resilience building to help vulnerable communities cope with upcoming shocks.
“Acting ahead of crises can save lives, reduce food shortages and protect livelihoods at a much lower cost than a not timely humanitarian response.”
On his part, the WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain said, “Once a famine is declared, it is too late – many people will have already starved to death. In Somalia in 2011, half of the quarter of a million people who died of hunger perished before famine was officially declared.
“The world failed to heed the warnings at the time and the repercussions were catastrophic. We must learn the lesson and act now to stop these hotspots from igniting a firestorm of hunger,” adding that: “We have proven solutions to stop these crises in their tracks, but we need the resources and the political will to implement them at scale before more lives are lost.”
The report also noted that ongoing conflict in Palestine was expected to further aggravate already catastrophic levels of acute hunger, with starvation and death already taking place, alongside the unprecedented death toll, widespread destruction, and displacement of nearly the total population of the Gaza Strip.
Despite these challenges, the report emphasized the importance of international cooperation and support in mitigating the impending food crises. It urged nations and organizations to act swiftly and decisively to address the root causes and provide much-needed relief to the affected regions.