FAO and WFP warn of looming widespread food crisis as hunger
threatens stability in dozens of countries

Conflict, weather extremes, economic shocks, the lingering
impacts of COVID-19, and the ripple effects from the war in Ukraine push
millions of people in countries across the world into poverty and hunger – as
food and fuel price spikes drive nations clos

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today issued a stark
warning of multiple, looming food crises, driven by conflict, climate shocks,
the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and massive public debt burdens -
exacerbated by the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine which has pushed food
and fuel prices to accelerate in many nations across the globe. These shocks
hit in contexts already characterized by rural marginalization and fragile
agrifood systems.

The ‘Hunger Hotspots – FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food
insecurity’ report issued today calls for urgent humanitarian action
in 20 ‘hunger hotspots’ where acute hunger is expected to worsen from
June-September 2022 – to save lives and livelihoods, and prevent famine.

The report warns that the war in Ukraine has exacerbated the
already steadily rising food and energy prices worldwide, which are already
affecting economic stability across all regions. The effects are expected to be
particularly acute where economic instability and spiralling prices combine
with drops in food production due to climate shocks such as recurrent droughts
or flooding.

“We are deeply concerned about the combined impacts of
overlapping crises jeopardizing people’s ability to produce and access foods,
pushing millions more into extreme levels of acute food insecurity,” said FAO
Director-General QU Dongyu. “We are in a race against time to help farmers in
the most affected countries, including by rapidly increasing potential food
production and boosting their resilience in the face of challenges”. 

“We’re facing a perfect storm that is not just going to hurt
the poorest of the poor - it’s also going to overwhelm millions of families who
until now have just about kept their heads above water,” warned WFP Executive
Director David Beasley.

“Conditions now are much worse than during the Arab Spring
in 2011 and 2007-2008 food price crisis, when 48 countries were rocked by
political unrest, riots and protests. We’ve already seen what’s happening in
Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, and Sri Lanka – that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
We have solutions. But we need to act, and act fast,” he warned.

Key findings

The report finds that – alongside conflict – frequent and
recurring climate shocks continue to drive acute hunger and shows that we have
entered a ‘new normal’ where droughts, flooding, hurricanes, and cyclones
repeatedly decimate farming and livestock rearing, drive population
displacement and push millions to the brink in countries across the world.

The report warns that worrisome climatic trends linked to La
Niña since late 2020 are expected to continue through 2022, driving up
humanitarian needs and acute hunger. An unprecedented drought in East Africa
affecting Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya is leading to a fourth consecutive
below-average rainfall season, while South Sudan will face its fourth
consecutive year of large-scale flooding, which will likely continue to drive
people from their homes and devastate crops and livestock production. The
report also expects above-average rains and a risk of localized flooding in the
Sahel, a more intense hurricane season in the Caribbean, and below-average rains
in Afghanistan – which is already reeling from multiple seasons of drought,
violence and political upheaval.

The report also emphasises the urgency of the dire
macroeconomic conditions in several countries – brought on by the fallout from
the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by the recent upheaval in global food and
energy markets. These conditions are causing dramatic income losses among the
poorest communities and are straining the capacity of national governments to
fund social safety nets, income-supporting measures, and the import of
essential goods.

According to the report, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and
Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with catastrophic conditions, and
Afghanistan and Somalia are new entries to this worrisome category since the
last hotspots report released January 2022. These six countries all have parts
of the population facing IPC phase 5 ‘Catastrophe’ or at risk of deterioration
towards catastrophic conditions, with up to 750,000 people facing starvation
and death. 400,000 of these are in Ethiopia’s Tigray region – the highest
number on record in one country since the famine in Somalia in 2011.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, the Sahel, the
Sudan and Syria remain ‘of very high concern’ with deteriorating critical
conditions, as in the previous edition of this report – with Kenya a new entry
to the list. Sri Lanka, West African coastal countries (Benin, Cabo Verde and
Guinea), Ukraine and Zimbabwe have been added to the list of hotspots
countries, joining Angola, Lebanon, Madagascar, and Mozambique which continue
to be hunger hotspots – according to the report.

Scaling up anticipatory action to prevent disasters

The report provides concrete country-specific
recommendations on priorities for immediate humanitarian response to save
lives, prevent famine and protect livelihoods, as well as anticipatory action.
The recent G7 commitment highlighted the importance of
strengthening anticipatory action in humanitarian and development assistance –
ensuring predictable hazards don’t become full-blown humanitarian disasters.

FAO and WFP have partnered to ramp up the scale and reach of
anticipatory action, to protect communities’ lives, food security and
livelihoods before they need life-saving assistance in the critical window
between an early warning and a shock. Flexible humanitarian funding enables FAO
and WFP to anticipate humanitarian needs and save lives. Evidence shows that
for every US$1 invested in anticipatory action to safeguard lives and
livelihoods, up to US$7 can be saved by avoiding losses for disaster-affected
communities.

About the report

Identified through forward-looking analysis, the ‘hunger hotspots’
have the potential for acute food insecurity to increase during the outlook
period. The hotspots are selected through a consensus-based process involving
WFP and FAO field and technical teams, alongside analysts specialized in
conflict, economic risks and natural hazards.

The report provides country-specific recommendations on
priorities for anticipatory action – short-term protective interventions to be
implemented before new humanitarian needs materialize; and emergency response –
actions to address existing humanitarian needs. The report is part of a series
of analytical products produced under the Global Network Against Food Crises,
to enhance and coordinate the generation and sharing of evidence-based
information and analysis for preventing and addressing food crises. 

https://www.fao.org/asiapacific/news/detail-events/en/c/1538532/