The crisis in West Africa has worsened

The number of hungry people in the Sahel and West Africa has quadrupled over the last three years, currently reaching 41 million, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Friday.

From conflict and displacement to climate shocks and inflation – all made worse by the Ukraine crisis – there are many reasons for the unprecedented food emergency in the Sahel and West Africa region.

At the same time, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that the worst drought in decades is threatening an estimated 15 million people in the Horn of Africa.

Approximately three, five and seven million people in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, respectively, risk a humanitarian crisis from unprecedented impacts of multiple failed rainy seasons.

According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix analysis, drought conditions could imminently supplant over one million Somalis – on top of the 2.9 million already displaced.

Immediate needs require large-scale emergency humanitarian assistance, including food, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); non-food items; and conflict management interventions.

"Additional funding is urgently needed to save lives and livelihoods, mitigate further displacement, and avoid greater needs in the future,” said the UN agency.

 

_{Source and Credit: WFP, UN}