According to a UN report, acute food insecurity is likely to soon strike Nigeria along with Somalia and other hunger hotspots.
The WFP and FAO joint early warning report noted that while conflict is still a major contributor to food insecurity, climate shocks—particularly the “still lingering” El Niño—also play a role.
At least eighteen crisis regions, which are already experiencing food insecurity, might face “acute food insecurity” if assistance is not provided promptly, according to data from the UN Humanitarian Aid.
According to the research, since October 2023, Nigeria and a few other nations have joined a long list of other nations on the list of hunger hotspots where severe food insecurity is expected to worsen over the next several months.
Africa is home to numerous “hunger hotspots,” but the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) cautioned that there is still danger of famine in Gaza and Sudan, where
conflict is still raging and increasing the possibility of new hunger emergencies in the region.
Cindy McCain, the executive director of the World Food Program, stated that “once a famine is declared, it is too late – many people will have already starved to death.”
“In 2011, 250,000 people died from starvation in Somalia, but only half of them died before famine was formally declared.” The consequences were disastrous since the globe at the time disregarded the
warnings. To prevent a hungry firestorm from erupting from these hotspots, we must take immediate action after learning our lesson.
The catastrophic food crisis that South Sudan is currently experiencing is so bad that, in comparison to the same period in 2023, the number of people there who could starve to death is expected to nearly treble between April and July of 2024.
According to the research, “sharp currency depreciation and tight domestic food supplies are driving food prices to soar, compounded by likely floods and recurrent waves of subnational conflict.” “Acute food
insecurity among both new arrivals and host communities is likely to increase as a result of the projected further rise in returnees and refugees from Sudan.”
According to the report, other areas of “extremely high concern” include Yemen, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, and the Syrian Arab Republic. Along with deteriorating driving
conditions that are predicted to increase life-threatening circumstances in the upcoming months, “a large number of people” in these countries experience urgent acute food insecurity.
In October 2023, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Zambia were added to the list of hunger hotspots, where severe food insecurity
is expected to worsen over the next few months.
The WFP and FAO joint early warning report noted that while conflict is still a major contributor to food insecurity, climate shocks—particularly the “still lingering” El Niño—also play a role.
The authors of the research emphasized that even though the weather phenomena is now ending, “it is evident that its impact was severe and widespread,” citing significant floods in east Africa and terrible
drought in southern Africa as evidence.
Regarding the possible consequences and “looming threat” posed by La Niña between August and February 2025, the UN agencies estimate that it will “significantly” affect rainfall. This might result in a
change in the environment that has “major implications” for a number of nations, including flooding in Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Chad, Mali, and Nigeria.
The UN-partnered research cautioned that both weather events could bring more climate extremes “that could upend lives and livelihoods,” supporting calls for swift humanitarian response carried out on a large
scale “to prevent further starvation and death.”
The essential necessity for swift action and international cooperation to stop the continuing decline in food security in these vital areas is highlighted by these findings and the urgent need to action. There is
not much time left to prevent disaster, therefore everyone needs to move quickly to give those in extreme need the help and assistance they require.
