Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali, on the verge of famine // Gaza, unprecedented crisis
▲ In the image, one of the camps near the town of Yan Junis, in the Gaza Strip.Photo Afp
Ap
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, November 1, 2024, p. 19
Rome. Serious food crises threaten hundreds of thousands of people in vulnerable areas, including the Palestinian territories, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali, where populations face or are close to famine, the United Nations food agencies warned yesterday. United Nations (UN).
Conflict, economic instability and climate shocks, combined with reduced funding for emergency food and agricultural assistance, are driving alarming levels of acute food insecurity, they warned in a report.
Immediate and expanded intervention is needed to prevent further deterioration in these already vulnerable regionsthey added.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) said acute food insecurity is projected to worsen by 16 hunger hotspots over the next six months in 14 countries and two regions.
Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Mali and the Palestinian territories remain in the level of greatest concernaccording to the report.
Chad, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen are classified as critical points of very high concernwhere large numbers of people face or are projected to face critical levels of acute food insecurity
Humanitarian network breaks
Conflict and armed violence are the main drivers of hunger in many hotspots, disrupting food systems, displacing populations and obstructing access to humanitarian aidthe report warned. Experts believe the conflict in Sudan will likely expand, driving mass displacement, resulting in levels of famine that are likely to persist and the number of people in catastrophic conditions will increase.
This will further aggravate the regional humanitarian crisis, resulting in cross-border movements towards neighboring countries, mainly towards Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.
The UN agencies also emphasized that the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territories has generated unprecedented needs, with an almost total displacement of the population and an increased risk of regional overflow.
In Lebanon, the escalating conflict is significantly increasing the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance and is severely impacting the need for food, they added. Beyond the conflict, climate extremes and increased weather variability are exacerbating food shortages in many regions.
The Girla natural weather pattern influencing global climate marked by cooler ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, will persist through March, with a significant hit to rainfall and temperature patterns.
“While The Girl can improve agricultural prospects for some regions of the world, it also increases the risk of flooding in Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” the report states.
