Latest news with #HungerHotspots
Gulf Today
13 hours ago
- General
- Gulf Today
UN report reveals worsening hunger in 13 hotspots; five with immediate risk of starvation
A new joint UN report warns that people in five hunger hotspots around the world face extreme hunger and risk of starvation and death in the coming months unless there is urgent humanitarian action and a coordinated international effort to de-escalate conflict, stem displacement, and mount an urgent full-scale aid response. The latest Hunger Hotspots report shows that Sudan, Palestine, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali are hotspots of the highest concern, with communities already facing famine, at risk of famine or confronted with catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity due to intensifying or persisting conflict, economic shocks, and natural hazards. The devastating crises are being exacerbated by growing access constraints and critical funding shortfalls. The semi-annual Hunger Hotspots report is an early-warning and predictive analysis of deteriorating food crises for the next five months. Developed and published with financial support from the European Union through the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), the latest edition projects a serious deterioration of acute food insecurity in 13 countries and territories - the world's most critical hunger hotspots in the coming months. In addition to hotspots of the highest concern, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Nigeria are now hotspots of very high concern and require urgent attention to save lives and livelihoods. Other hotspots include Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia, and Syria. "This report makes it very clear: hunger today is not a distant threat - it is a daily emergency for millions,' FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said. "We must act now, and act together, to save lives and safeguard livelihoods. Protecting people's farms and animals to ensure they can keep producing food where they are, even in the toughest and harshest conditions, is not just urgent - it is essential.' "This report is a red alert. We know where hunger is rising and we know who is at risk,' added Cindy McCain, World Food Programme Executive Director. "We have the tools and experience to respond, but without funding and access, we cannot save lives. Urgent, sustained investment in food assistance and recovery support is crucial as the window to avert yet more devastating hunger is closing fast." In contrast, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have been removed from the Hunger Hotspots list. In East and Southern Africa, as well as in Niger, better climatic conditions for harvests and fewer weather extremes have eased food security pressures. Lebanon has also been delisted following reduced intensity of military operations. However, FAO and WFP warn that these gains remain fragile and could reverse quickly if shocks re-emerge.
Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Southern African countries removed from UN ‘Hunger Hotspot' list as harvests improve
For southern Africa at least, this is a welcome development which will blunt the twin blades of hunger and food inflation while lifting growth in economies that rely heavily on agriculture. The legacy of last year's scorching El Niño event is now receding in southern Africa and several countries in the region have just been removed from the UN's Hunger Hotspot list as harvests have significantly improved from the previous season's drought. Tens of millions of people in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho were in need of food aid just a few months ago in the face of the 2023/24 El Niño event, which left a trail of misery and wilted crops in its wake. 'Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been removed from the Hunger Hotspots list,' The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Monday in their semi-annual Hunger Hotspots report: 'In east and southern Africa, as well as in Niger, better climatic conditions for harvests and fewer weather extremes have eased food security pressures. However, the FAO and WFP warn that these gains remain fragile and could reverse quickly if shocks re-emerge.' For southern Africa at least, this is a welcome development which will blunt the twin blades of hunger and food inflation while lifting growth in economies that rely heavily on agriculture. Zambia is expected this season to reap a record harvest of the staple maize amounting to more than 3.6 million tonnes, more than double last year's stunted 1.5 million tonnes. Other countries in the region, including South Africa, have also seen a rebound in the fields and yields. South Africa's maize crop this year is more than 14% higher. The futures price for South African white maize – according to data compiled by Barchart – has fallen from record territory of more than R5,400 a tonne in January to about R4,700 a tonne, a drop of 13%. This in turn will contain retail prices for the caloric staple that many lower-income South African households depend on. El Niño typically brings drought to southern Africa and the 2023/24 version was one of the strongest on record. But it was followed by a brief and weak La Niña which still delivered on its usual promise of good rains for the region. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (Enso), which dances to the beat of sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific, is currently in the neutral phase between its polar extremes. Most global forecasters currently see it remaining neutral until at least November, when there is a roughly 50/50 chance seen of La Niña making a return. Thankfully for this region, El Niño is not on the radar screen this year. Such events are seen becoming more intense because of rapid climate change linked by the vast majority of scientists to fossil fuel use. It must be said that the Hunger Hotspots report also contains plenty of ill tidings. 'The latest Hunger Hotspots report shows that Sudan, Palestine, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali are hotspots of highest concern, with communities already facing famine, at risk of famine or confronted with catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity due to intensifying or persisting conflict, economic shocks and natural hazards,' the report said. And the Democratic Republic of Congo has been reintroduced to the hotspot list because of its intensifying conflicts. 'The devastating crises are being exacerbated by growing access constraints and critical funding shortfalls,' it pointedly noted – shortfalls that would include the Trump administration's wood-chipper approach to USAID. DM What it means Food inflation should cool in southern Africa and while the worst is over from last season's poor harvests, hunger has hardly been eliminated from a region with sky-high rates of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Still, there are grounds for regional optimism. Zambia, for example, is reaping a record maize harvest and there is no sign of an imminent return of El Niño.
GMA Network
a day ago
- Health
- GMA Network
Hunger crisis deepens in global hotspots as famine risk rises, UN warns
ROME — Extreme hunger is intensifying in 13 global hot spots, with Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali at immediate risk of famine without urgent humanitarian intervention, a joint United Nations report warned on Monday. The "Hunger Hotspots" report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) blamed conflict, economic shocks, and climate-related hazards for conditions in the worst-hit areas. The report predicts food crises in the next five months. It called for investment and help to ensure aid delivery, which it said was being undermined by insecurity and funding gaps. "This report is a red alert. We know where hunger is rising and we know who is at risk," said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. "Without funding and access, we cannot save lives." For famine to be declared, at least 20% of the population in an area must be suffering extreme food shortages, with 30% of children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease. In Sudan, where famine was confirmed in 2024, the crisis is expected to persist due to conflict and displacement, with almost 25 million people at risk. South Sudan, hit by flooding and political instability, could see up to 7.7 million people in crisis, with 63,000 in famine-like conditions, the report said. In Gaza, Israel's continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.1 million people facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, the report said. In Haiti, escalating gang violence has displaced thousands, with 8,400 already facing catastrophic hunger, while in Mali conflict and high grain prices put 2,600 people at risk of starvation by the end of August. Other countries of high concern include Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, and Nigeria. "Protecting people's farms and animals to ensure they can keep producing food where they are, even in the toughest and harshest conditions, is not just urgent—it is essential," said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. Some countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Lebanon, have shown improvements and been removed from the FAO and WFP's Hunger Hotspots list. — Reuters
