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	The use of explosive weapons in populated areas poses an immense threat to civilians worldwide by UNICEF, ICRC, INEW, agencies   Statement by ICRC president Mirjana Splojaric to the first international follow-up conference to review implementation of the Political Declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas - April 2024, Oslo Norway:   "Today, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, we are witnessing a global and collective failure to protect civilians in armed conflicts.   The human toll of these wars, exacerbated by the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas, is unacceptable.   Heavy explosive weapons put at risk everyone – children, women and men – and everything – homes, schools and hospitals – within their wide impact areas often extending well beyond their target.   In urban environments where military objectives, civilians and civilian objects are commingled, the results are devastating. The ICRC teams on the ground have seen scores of civilians killed or injured, often left with permanent disabilities or serious mental trauma.   Cities are reduced to rubble, with homes, infrastructures, schools and cultural sites destroyed. People's means of earning a living are wiped out.   Services essential for human survival collapse, leaving entire populations without access to water, sanitation, electricity or health care – causing more death and disease, triggering displacement and setting development back decades.   Importantly, it raises serious questions about how states and non-state armed groups using such weapons are interpreting and applying the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) that govern the conduct of hostilities.   These IHL rules are all about protecting civilians from the deadly dangers of hostilities. They stem from the cardinal principle of distinction that requires all parties to a conflict to distinguish at all times between the civilian population and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives. Attacks must not be directed against civilians or civilian objects, and indiscriminate attacks are prohibited.   Furthermore, the principles of proportionality and precaution afford protection to civilians and civilian objects against the danger of being incidentally harmed by attacks against military objectives.   In the conduct of military operations, constant care must be taken to spare the civilian population and civilian objects. Attacks are prohibited when they may be expected to cause incidental harm to civilians and civilian objects that would be excessive or could be avoided or minimized.   And yet, we see exceptions to IHL being made that strip entire categories of people of their protection. We see transactional and reciprocal arguments invoked in an attempt to justify unacceptable interpretations of proportionality, feasible precautions not being taken and other non-compliant behaviors.   We see military necessity being increasingly emphasized to the detriment of sparing civilian lives, with far too little regard being paid to the protective purpose of IHL. As parties to armed conflicts interpret these tenets of international humanitarian law with increased elasticity, they set a dangerous precedent with tragic consequences for all.   In this respect, we commend the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas for stressing the importance of full compliance with IHL as a means to protect civilians and civilian objects and to avoid, and in any event minimize, civilian harm.   While there is no general prohibition under IHL against using heavy explosive weapons in populated areas, their use in these areas is very likely to have indiscriminate effects, and, depending on the circumstances, IHL rules may well prohibit such use.   This underpins the long-standing call by the ICRC and the broader International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to all states and non-state armed groups that are parties to armed conflicts to avoid the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas.   These weapons should not be used in populated areas unless sufficient mitigation measures can be taken to limit their wide area effects and the consequent risk of civilian harm.   The declaration recognizes that, beyond compliance with the law, effectively protecting civilians requires states and parties to armed conflicts to review and improve national policy and practice with regard to the protection of civilians during armed conflict involving the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.   The ICRC welcomes this political commitment. The daily reminders from around the world of the devastation caused by urban warfare highlight the declaration's relevance and urgency. However, in the reality of armed conflicts, we must soberly acknowledge that the declaration's life-saving potential will only materialize if:   All endorsing states implement the declaration – in letter and spirit. All parties to armed conflict, including non-state armed groups, fully adhere to its commitments, and all warring parties interpret IHL, including its rules on the conduct of hostilities, in good faith, as the protective body of law it is meant to be.   Words matter. Political pledges matter. Yet they offer scant consolation to civilians worldwide enduring the horrors of bombardment. What is urgently needed is tangible, on-the-ground change. We call on you all to take concrete steps, here in Oslo and when back in your capitals, to make this change.   http://www.icrc.org/en/document/global-and-collective-failure-to-protect-civilians-in-armed-conflict http://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2024/04/22/protecting-civilians-in-conflict-the-urgency-of-implementing-the-political-declaration-on-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas/ http://reliefweb.int/report/world/2024-statement-members-ngo-working-group-protection-civilians http://civiliansinconflict.org/press-releases/civic-launches-first-protection-of-civilians-trends-report-and-civilian-protection-index/   Apr. 2024   Meaningful action to prevent the use of explosive weapons in populated areas could almost halve number of child casualties in conflicts. (UNICEF)   Between 2018 and 2022, explosive weapons were responsible for nearly half - 49.8 per cent - of the more than 47,500 instances of children killed and maimed that were verified by the United Nations, in more than 24 conflict zones globally. The vast majority of these instances occurred in populated areas.   The use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA) poses an immense threat to children worldwide. As urban warfare increases, the use of weapons designed for open battlefields is now a common reality in cities, towns, villages, and other populated areas, with devastating effects on young populations. In the five years up to 2022, explosive weapons killed or seriously injured almost twice as many children as were killed or injured by gunshots and other firearms.   “The evidence is irrefutable—when explosive weapons are used in populated areas, children suffer profoundly, not just physically but in every aspect of their lives,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban.   “That the use of explosive weapons accounts for half of all child casualties is not only a reminder of the catastrophic impact and dire consequences for children, but also illustrates the progress that could be made with meaningful action to prevent their use in populated areas.”   As countries meet this week in Oslo, Norway, at the first international follow-up conference to the Political Declaration on the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, which was adopted in Dublin in November 2022, this provides a crucial opportunity to better protect children, their families, and communities from armed conflict.   Endorsed by more than 85 countries, the Declaration commits states to take steps to avoid civilian harm when conducting military operations in populated areas.   “Thousands of young lives are abruptly ended or forever altered each year,” said Chaiban. “Beyond children’s physical injuries and scars lie additional - often less visible - psychological, educational, and social impacts, that can persist throughout their lifetimes, creating cycles of hardship and suffering.”   In addition to direct injuries, the use of explosive weapons leads to broader social, economic and environmental degradation, severely affecting children’s access to essential services like healthcare, education, and clean water. The destruction of infrastructure necessary for survival and well-being results in long-term consequences for children’s development and the health of the community at large.   UNICEF is actively working on the ground in conflict zones to mitigate these impacts, delivering critical aid and support to the children most at risk. However, this can only achieve so much, and prevention is a critical aspect of ensuring all children are protected, requiring a robust and sustained international response.   UNICEF is calling for:   All parties to conflict and those with influence over them, to protect and ensure respect for children’s rights including by ending the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.   All Member States to sign the EWIPA Declaration and call on to Member States that are already signatories, to identify and adopt military measures, policies, and practices that reduce harm to children, and share them with other countries.   Member States who are signatories to speak out about the devastating impact of EWIPA on children and promote the Political Declaration including by urging warring parties around the world to cease the use of EWIPA.   Member States to provide sustained, financial support for programmes and interventions that will protect children from EWIPA including through injury surveillance, conflict preparedness and protection (CPP), explosive ordnance risk education (EORE), clearance, and victim assistance.   Member States to refrain from transferring explosive weapons to warring parties that are likely to use them against civilians and civilian objects in line with the Arms Trade Treaty.   Member States, international organizations and civil society to gather and share evidence and data, including casualty tracking and mental health, on the direct and indirect impact of explosive weapons on children to support the case for child protection.   “The ongoing commitment of global leaders and the implementation of the EWIPA Declaration are critical to turning the tide against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas,” said Chaiban. “As the international community continues to witness the unspeakable harm these weapons cause, we must take decisive action to protect our future generations. The cost of inaction is too high—a price paid by our children.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/meaningful-action-prevent-use-explosive-weapons-populated-areas-could-almost-halve http://www.inew.org/news/   19 Nov. 2022 (INEW, ICRC)   Today in Dublin, Ireland 82 countries officially endorsed the Political Declaration on the Protection of Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, which had been finalised on 17 June 2022 in Geneva.   The declaration is the culmination of a decade-long advocacy effort led by the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the United Nations and almost three years of diplomatic negotiations led by Ireland.   The civilian harm arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas is extensive and well-documented. On average, 90 percent of the people who are killed or injured when explosive weapons are used in populated areas are civilians.   Damage to or destruction of buildings, homes, infrastructure, and other civilian objects further exacerbates civilian suffering by disrupting access to services critical for the civilian population, including education and health care, and driving displacement.   These direct and indirect effects of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas have affected countless civilians in recent and ongoing armed conflicts across many countries.   The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is the leading cause of civilian casualties in armed conflict, and the declaration is the first formal international recognition that this must be addressed urgently and directly.   The declaration promotes stronger standards to protect civilians and commits states which endorse it, to take action to implement it by making changes to their national policy and practice, including military policies and operational rules of engagement.   The 82 endorsing countries came from all regions of the world and include major producers of explosive weapons, past users of explosive weapons in populated areas, and countries affected by armed conflict.   Statement by ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric, Dublin, November 2022.   "It gives me great pleasure to join you here today to mark the adoption of a milestone declaration which emanates from our common goal to improve the protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.   This Political Declaration is a collective achievement with the potential to change the fate of many hundreds of thousands of persons affected by armed conflict around the world. It is a major step towards strengthening the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law where it matters the most.   The use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas is one of the major causes of civilian harm in today's armed conflicts. When fighting takes place in cities, men, women, and children are exposed to unacceptably high risks.   Whether in the Middle East, in Africa, Asia, Latin America and now also again in Europe, we continue to witness the devastating pattern of suffering and destruction they cause.   Countless lives are shattered, countless victims disabled and traumatized because they happened to be in these weapons' large impact area. Many more suffer, fall ill or even die when a bomb, missile or mortar damages critical infrastructure, cutting off vital services such as water, electricity, sanitation and health care.   Entire populations flee to escape bombing and shelling or because life in the ruins becomes unbearable. Many remain displaced for months or even years. Large regions are contaminated by unexploded ordnance long after hostilities have ended. Ultimately, whole generations are scarred, and development indexes are set back by decades.   When bombs fall in cities, pain multiplies. Lost lives. Lost limbs. Crumbled homes. Crushed dreams. That's why today's declaration is so important. It brings hope that the immense suffering of civilians will no longer be accepted as an inevitable by-product of warfare.   For the first time in an instrument of this kind, States acknowledge the gravity of the problem and commit to taking concrete actions to address it, including by restricting or refraining from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, where such use may be expected to cause civilian harm.   The ICRC welcomes this and the other important commitments in the Declaration. Since 2011, we have been calling on all States and parties to armed conflict to avoid the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area in populated areas, as a matter of policy, due to the significant likelihood of indiscriminate effects.   This is why the ICRC finds this Declaration so important. It sends a powerful signal that belligerents cannot continue fighting in populated areas the way they have until now. This change in mindset and perspective is crucial. Yet, we are only at the beginning of a long process.   We must now work together to broaden support for the Declaration and to effectively implement it, turning ambitious commitments into meaningful measures, policies and good practices that will help alleviate human suffering during armed conflicts and in their aftermath.   All States have a stake in this effort. We commend the many Governments which have already endorsed the document and strongly encourage all others to do so without delay.   For one, as the urbanization of warfare is a global phenomenon, also its consequences are also global. From people displaced by armed conflict to the ripple effects of essential service disruption on food security, the effects of the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas transcend borders.   Second, the Declaration aims to strengthen compliance with international humanitarian law, which is today direly needed. All States have not only an interest in doing so, but also a legal duty.   And third, the Declaration creates an international standard of behaviour. The more States endorse the Declaration, the stronger this standard will become. Let us not forget that, today, no one fights alone. Partnered military operations and other support relationships shape the course of armed conflicts around the world.   As more and more States agree to restrict or refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas, partners and supported parties will eventually be held to the same standard.   So today we mark the achievement, but tomorrow we must work harder to put these important commitments into action. We owe this to the innumerable victims of urban warfare, and to our common humanity".   Nov. 2022   States adopt first ever international agreement to protect civilians from explosive weapons in populated areas. Action on Armed Violence (AOAV)   States met at Dublin Castle on 18 November, 2022 to sign the “Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas”.    The landmark agreement addresses the widespread civilian suffering and devastation resulting from the bombing and shelling of cities, towns, and other populated areas.   The International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) welcomes the declaration and calls on all states to sign and implement it.   “This declaration sends a clear message that using explosive weapons in populated areas causes unacceptable civilian suffering and devastation and must stop. It is time for all states to endorse and implement the Declaration to help civilians and their communities during and after conflict”, said Laura Boillot, Coordinator for the International Network in Explosive Weapons (INEW).   The Declaration requires states to impose limits on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, which is the leading cause of harm to civilians in conflicts today.   “When explosive weapons are used in populated areas, over a decade of data from AOAV has shown that civilians will be, by far, the most impacted. Around nine out of ten people harmed from such explosive weapon use in towns and cities have been civilians – a consistent finding seen throughout all conflicts in recent years,” said Iain Overton, Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), which runs a global annual monitor.   It also requires states to assist victims and affected communities both during and after conflict and to address the long-term suffering that stems from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Civilians suffer physical and psychological injury. Damage to and destruction of critical civilian infrastructure interferes with heath care, education, and other services. People are forced to flee the towns and cities in which they live and work.   “Nobody thinks about people like me, with no place to hide. This leads to psychological trauma. I was 12, in a wheelchair and terrified, but there was nothing anyone could do. When civilians are bombed it’s not only lives, cities and homes that are lost but also their future. I hope that signing the declaration will not be just a piece of paper – but the beginning of a real change. People suffering in wars around the world need it”, said Nujeen Mustafa, who fled from Aleppo, Syria to Germany.   “There is a widespread pattern of harm: when towns and cities are bombed, it is civilians that suffer the most”, said Alma Taslidzan Al-Osta from Humanity and Inclusion. Ethiopia, Iraq, Palestine (Gaza), Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen are recent examples of affected counties.   “Children disproportionately suffer the consequences of today’s armed conflicts as city centres are turned into battlefields. This could be a significant step forward to stop the war on children, but the declaration will mean nothing without robust, urgent implementation”, said James Denselow, Head of Conflict at Save the Children, UK.   Explosive weapons were designed for use in open battlefields, and are often deadly choices when used in towns, cities and other areas in which civilians are concentrated.   “Heavy explosive weapons, which are inaccurate, have a wide blast or fragmentation radius, or are delivered in groups, are a deadly choice for civilians”, said Steve Goose from Human Rights Watch. “Use of explosive weapons with such wide area effects should always be avoided in populated areas.”   States that sign the declaration must move quickly to begin the process of implementation. This includes developing policies and practices which limit the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and ensure that the protection of civilians is prioritized in the planning and conduct of military operations.   The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is the leading cause of civilian casualties in contemporary armed conflicts, and the Declaration is the first formal international recognition that this must be addressed urgently and directly.   http://www.icrc.org/en/document/un-icrc-urge-stepped-up-support-to-protect-civilians-from-explosive-weapons-populated-areas http://www.inew.org/dublin-conference-to-adopt-the-political-declaration-on-explosive-weapons/ http://aoav.org.uk/2022/states-set-to-adopt-first-ever-international-agreement-to-protect-civilians-from-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas/ http://civiliansinconflict.org/press-releases/civic-urges-immediate-implementation-of-political-declaration-on-explosive-weapons/ http://www.justsecurity.org/84240/80-countries-committed-to-curb-use-of-explosive-weapons/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/26/safeguarding-civilians   http://www.icrc.org/en/what-we-do/war-in-cities http://www.icrc.org/en/document/civilians-protected-against-explosive-weapons http://www.icrc.org/en/explosive-weapons-populated-areas http://www.icrc.org/en/document/addressing-indirect-effects-explosive-weapons http://www.icrc.org/en/publication/i-saw-my-city-die-voices-front-lines-urban-conflict-iraq-syria-and-yemen http://international-review.icrc.org/reviews/irrc-no-901-war-cities http://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians http://hi.org/en/a-political-declaration-against-the-use-of-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas http://civiliansinconflict.org/press-releases/ewipa-2022-statement/ http://civiliansinconflict.org/blog/ewipa-consultations/ http://www.inew.org/press-release-use-of-heavy-explosive-weapons-killing-civilians-in-towns-and-cities-must-be-prevented/ http://reliefweb.int/report/world/political-declaration-strengthening-protection-civilians-humanitarian-consequences-arising-use-explosive-weapons-populated-areas-final-rev-enarruzh
	Famine takes grip in Africa’s conflict zones by Oxfam, IRC, Africa Center, agencies   May 2025   The Sahel and West and Central Africa face yet another year of alarming food and nutrition insecurity - May 2025 (Food Security and Nutrition Working Group)   For the eighth consecutive year, the region faces a record number of people in need of urgent food and nutrition assistance, underscoring the severity of the crisis. This alarming trend demands immediate, coordinated, and sustained action.   Governments, donors, and national and international organisations must intensify their collaboration to address the growing vulnerability of affected populations. A unified approach, through the coordinated implementation of multisectoral and integrated interventions, is essential to safeguard the food and nutritional security of the most vulnerable communities.   Projections for June to August 2025 indicate that 52 million people could face acute food insecurity if appropriate measures are not taken.   The latest Cadre Harmonise (CH) analysis once again reveals a significant deterioration in food and nutrition security in the Sahel and West and Central Africa. The analysis for the current period (March–May 2025) covers 11 countries, including Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Chad, and Togo. For Senegal and Cameroon, the assessment focused on updating the projections made during the November 2024 cycle.   Projections for the June-August 2025 period provide an overview of the food and nutrition security situation in the Sahel and West and Central Africa.   During the lean season (June-August 2025), 52 million people, nearly 12% of the analysed population, are expected to face food and nutrition insecurity (CH Phase 3 or worse). These figures represent another increase in the number of people urgently needing food and nutrition assistance compared to the same period in 2024. This calls for a significant scale-up in aid to protect lives and livelihoods of vulnerable households and reduce the risk of catastrophic food insecurity.   http://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/alert-note-sahel-and-west-and-central-africa-face-yet-another-year-alarming-food-and-nutrition-insecurity-may-2025   Oct. 2024   Famine takes grip in Africa’s conflict zones. (Africa Center)   Eighty percent of the record 163 million Africans facing acute food insecurity are in conflict-affected countries, including at least 840,000 people confronting famine in Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali.   Highlights:   An estimated 163 million Africans are facing acute food insecurity—sustaining the record numbers of Africans experiencing food crisis. This total is nearly triple the number from 5 years ago, highlighting the rapid escalation in Africa’s food emergency.   Some 130 million (80 percent) of those facing acute food insecurity are in countries experiencing conflict, many of which have persisted for years and have eroded community and national coping mechanisms.   13 of the 16 African countries with the largest number of people experiencing acute food insecurity are in conflict. This pattern underscores that conflict continues to be the primary driver of acute food insecurity in Africa.   Conflict-affected countries account for 18.6 million (94 percent) of those facing emergency levels (Phase 4), and 840,000 (100 percent) of those facing catastrophic (or Phase 5, famine) levels of food insecurity.   Famine has been confirmed in the Darfur region of Sudan. Parts of South Sudan and Mali may also be experiencing famine conditions as well, though inaccessibility has limited data collection and reporting.   This aggregate continental increase is mitigated somewhat by the winding down of the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia, which saw a decline in 3.9 million acutely food insecure individuals. Somalia and Uganda also saw a decrease in acute food insecurity (2.2-million- and 1.2-million-person declines, respectively) because of the breaking of the 2020-2023 East Africa drought.   Nigeria, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the three countries with the greatest number of acutely food insecure people—each with over 20 million individuals facing at least crisis levels of food insecurity. Collectively, these three countries comprise about half of all people on the continent facing acute food insecurity.   Nigeria and Sudan also saw the largest aggregate increases in the number of people acutely food insecure this past year, adding 6.8 million and 5.3 million people, respectively.   Four countries—South Sudan (64%), Sudan (53%), Namibia (48%), and the Central African Republic (44%)—have 40 percent or higher of their populations facing acute hunger.   Some 23 out of 54 African countries have at least 10 percent of their populations facing acute food insecurity. This is more than double the number since 2019.   The Central, East, West, and Southern African regions all have at least 10 percent of their populations experiencing acute food insecurity. Nineteen percent of the population in Central Africa is facing acute food insecurity, the greatest share of any region. Five of the seven countries in this region are in conflict.   11 countries saw at least a 20-percent increase in their acutely food insecure populations. These major shifts are felt sharply by the affected populations, even if these increases are not widely reported because of their relatively smaller populations.   Though conflict remains the primary driver of acute food insecurity, lingering impacts from the covid pandemic on food production and trade, the disruption of global supply chains due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, weather shocks have all contributed to limiting availability and sharp rises in food prices.   The El Nino climate pattern contributed to a devastating drought in Southern Africa this year. Meanwhile, in West and Central Africa, the transition to La Nina led to unusually heavy rainfall over the last few months. Since most of African agriculture is rain-dependent, these two extreme climate impacts have negatively affected tens of millions of people.   Following is a closer look at the African countries with the largest populations experiencing acute food insecurity.   Nigeria   An estimated 31.7 million Nigerians are facing crisis or higher food insecurity, including almost a million at Phase 4 (emergency) levels. This represents a 27-percent increase over last year and continues a steadily escalating trend since 2019.   Violence has displaced farmers and pastoralists while destroying crops and livestock. This violence is driven by militant Islamist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) in the North East, armed criminal groups in the North West, and farmer–herder conflicts in the Middle Belt. The disruption to supply chains and markets have caused food prices to spike throughout the country with overall inflation currently at 34 percent.   The government has deployed 10,000 “agro-rangers” in 19 states to address the insecurity on farms and rural areas. However, unusually heavy rains in West and Central Africa have further wreaked havoc on conflict-affected communities, farms, and markets across Nigeria’s food belt.   Sudan   Although historically the largest agricultural producer in Africa, Sudan is now experiencing the second highest aggregate levels of food insecurity on the continent. This food crisis is due to the conflict that erupted in April 2023 between the rival Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces militias. An estimated 25.6 million people (half of the country’s population) are experiencing acute food insecurity, including 8.5 million people experiencing emergency food insecurity and more than 756,000 are facing catastrophic or famine-level food crisis. The situation is especially critical for populations trapped in Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Al Jazirah States.   The warring parties have destroyed oil facilities, crucial ecosystems, the water supply, and wastewater infrastructure, condemning the country to long-term impediments to economic development. With the rainy season started, flooding has hit many parts of the country. Cases of cholera are surging. Sudan now has the largest displacement crisis in the world. The UN has accused the warring parties of weaponizing access to food as international aid has been unable to reach the millions in need.   Sudan’s conflict is also straining the coping mechanisms of its neighboring countries, causing increased stresses on food security for their citizens and the displaced they host (see Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, and the Central African Republic below).   Democratic Republic of the Congo   The key driver of food insecurity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the multilayered conflict in the country’s eastern provinces. An estimated 23.4 million people (almost a quarter of the population) are experiencing acute food insecurity. This includes 2.9 million people facing emergency levels (Phase 4). With the expanding conflict in the east, where already more than 6.5 million internally displaced people are struggling to survive, these projections of acute food insecurity may be an underestimate.   As with other countries experiencing conflict, the displacement and threat of violence has prevented agriculturalists from tending to crops and livestock, reducing food supply and driving up prices of the food found in markets. More than 6 million people are displaced.   Ethiopia   Climate-related disasters (drought in some parts, flooding in others), the lingering displacement caused by the Tigray conflict, and ongoing clashes with ethnic militias in Amhara and Oromia regions have resulted in an estimated 15.8 million Ethiopians needing emergency food assistance.   South Sudan   South Sudan faces persistently high levels of acute food insecurity due to ongoing conflict, natural disasters (severe flooding and dry spells), and the resultant soaring cost of food. This year, 7.1 million (over half of the population) are facing crisis levels of food insecurity, including 2.3 million facing emergency levels (Phase 4), and some 80,000 facing catastrophic levels (Phase 5).   This humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by the rapid return of more than 630,000 South Sudanese citizens and some 200,000 refugees fleeing Sudan’s conflict.   The conflict in Sudan also ruptured the oil pipeline from South Sudan, negating the country’s primary source of foreign earnings.   Other Notable Food Insecurity Hotspots   Chad   Chad’s eastern provinces are laboring under the pressure of hosting almost 862,000 new Sudanese refugees, adding to the 400,000 who had fled to Chad in the early 2000s during the first Darfur crisis. Eastern Chad is heavily dependent on imports from Sudan for many basic commodities, including staple foods. Those imports have virtually stopped and the latest surge of displacement is expected to further deplete food stocks among host communities. Meanwhile, poverty and the remoteness of the displacement camps have hampered international food assistance.   In the Lac region in the west of the country, insecurity from Boko Haram and ISWA, deteriorating livelihoods, local production shortfalls, and recurrent climate shocks (such as flooding and drought) have aggravated acute food insecurity. Unusually heavy rains in 2024 have caused flooding that has destroyed livestock, crops, and 160,000 homes.   As a result of these crises, almost 3.4 million Chadians (almost 20 percent of the population) are experiencing acute food insecurity, including 534,000 people facing emergency levels (Phase 4).   Burkina Faso   Burkina Faso remains a highly fragile environment where a military junta is facing a militant Islamist insurgency that has besieged its capital as well as over 60 other municipalities. Burkina Faso currently has over 2.7 million people facing acute food insecurity, including 423,000 people facing emergency levels in the north and eastern provinces of the country where fighting is the strongest. Opacity surrounding the situation in Burkina Faso—the junta stopped reporting on its internal displacement crisis (last totaling 2.3 million people) in March of 2023—means that conditions in Burkina Faso could be much worse than is currently known.   Central African Republic   Conflict continues to be the key driver causing acute food insecurity among 2.5 million civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR). This includes 508,000 people at emergency levels. Armed conflict has been roiling CAR for 12 years and expectations are that conditions could to worsen in a country where half of the population relies on humanitarian assistance to survive.   Mali   Attacks by militant Islamists on populations in Timbuktu, Gao, and Menaka are driving acute food insecurity in Mali, including catastrophe levels (Phase 5) in Menaka. Almost 1.4 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity, including 121,000 people facing emergency levels (Phase 4) in Mopti, Gao, Tombouctou, and Kidal. Information blackouts instituted by the military junta in Mali mean the situation may be far worse. Mali has also been impacted by severe flooding from La Niña-induced rains.   Somalia   Some 4.4 million Somalis (23 percent of the population) are still facing acute food insecurity, including almost a million at emergency levels (Phase 4) due to displacement and insecurity caused by the al Shabaab insurgency, particularly across the central and southcentral regions of the country contested by the militant group.   Non-Conflict-Related Food Insecurity   Southern Africa (Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)   Six southern African countries experienced an El Nino-induced drought and heatwave that caused crop failures and livestock deaths causing all but Mozambique to declare national emergencies. The resulting shortfall in staple crops and the rising cost of food have left 5.8 million people in Zambia, 5.7 million in Malawi, 3.3 million in Mozambique, 3 million in Zimbabwe, 1.3 million in Namibia, and 400,000 in Lesotho facing acute levels of food insecurity. Zambia has been hit by a “perfect storm” of natural calamities including an outbreak of fall armyworms, locusts, and cassava brown streak disease.   Mozambique’s conflict in the northeastern part of the country is estimated to contribute to roughly 45 percent of the country’s acute food insecurity. Approximately 773,000 Mozambicans face emergency levels (Phase 4) of food insecurity.   http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/famine-takes-grip-africas-prolonged-conflict-zones http://www.care.org/news-and-stories/10-crises-to-look-out-for-in-2025/ http://www.wfp.org/news/millions-central-sahel-and-nigeria-risk-food-cuts-world-food-programme-faces-severe-funding http://www.internal-displacement.org/news/internal-displacement-in-africa-triples-in-15-years-since-landmark-treaty-to-address-it/ http://www.internal-displacement.org/regional-reports/internal-displacement-in-africa/ http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/climate-change-and-mass-atrocities/   Oct. 2024   International Rescue Committee (IRC) highlights growing public health risk of climate change and conflict.   With delegates from around the world gathered in Berlin for the 2024 World Health Summit, the IRC is calling attention to the various ways that violent conflict and the climate crisis are worsening public health challenges globally.   The convergence of violent conflict and climate change is fueling an alarming deterioration of public health in many of the most vulnerable contexts around the world. The IRC has identified 16 countries in which that convergence is especially pronounced. Those countries account for 10.5% of the total global population but a staggering 71.1% of people in humanitarian need.   At the same time and in the face of clear evidence that both conflict and climate disasters are damaging public health globally, less than 5% of all climate adaptation financing goes to the health sector and only a quarter of that insufficient share is directed to fragile settings.   A bad situation is getting worse and the necessary, limited resources being directed toward it are not being expended in a way that reaches those who need them most urgently.   Several examples of the ways conflict and climate change are directly causing public health catastrophes:   The global surge in mpox cases has been largely concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, with more than 30,000 cases and 990 deaths as of October 1, 2024. Spread of mpox has been of particular concern in camps housing people displaced by the conflict in North Kivu and recent severe flooding in Burundi, underscoring how both conflict and climate disasters can exacerbate public health challenges.   In July of this year, poliovirus was detected in Gaza’s wastewater and in August Gaza had its first confirmed case of polio in 25 years. This coupled with overcrowded conditions in shelters means Gaza is now especially vulnerable to rapid disease spread. The World Health Organization recently completed an initial wave of vaccination for polio that reached around 560,000 children under the age of 10 but ongoing hostilities are impeding efforts to build on this progress.   While the IRC has delivered emergency medical care and water sanitation services to Gaza and has joined calls for both a ceasefire and a concerted and sustained vaccination campaign in the territory, meaningful progress against polio and other disease spread in Gaza will require the rebuilding and rehabilitation of health and water facilities. This will require lifting restrictions on the entrance of vital equipment and supplies and a lasting cessation of violent conflict.   Cholera is spreading across northeast Syria and Yemen with alarming rates in parts of Yemen - two active conflict zones that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis.   In northeast Syria, the main factors behind this outbreak include severe droughts and the reduced access to safe drinking water and sanitation systems, driven both by climate change and more than decade of violent conflict.   In Yemen, recent flooding has displaced tens of thousands of people and destroyed key infrastructure including sanitation and water treatment systems, all resulting in an increased risk of further cholera outbreaks.   Unprecedented levels of hunger continue to ravage fragile contexts around the world with as many as 45 million children under the age of 5 suffering from acute malnutrition at any given moment. Up to 2 million children under the age of 5 will die each year as a result of malnutrition.   Across countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria Somalia, South Sudan, the combined toll of years of violent conflict and climate change impacts including severe drought and flooding have driven alarming spikes in child malnutrition.   An increase in conflict and climate disruptions has left more children without access to lifesaving vaccinations against diseases such as diphtheria and measles, compounding health inequities.   In 2023, Sudan experienced the sharpest drop in immunization coverage due to the civil war, with DTP3 (third dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) coverage decreasing to 51% from 68% in 2022. Concurrently, climate change is increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.   The IRC-led Reaching Every Child in Humanitarian Settings (REACH) project, the first time Gavi has directly funded and supplied humanitarian partners, has worked in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan since 2022, targeting 156 districts in conflict-affected, and cross-border communities where national immunization programs are not able to function.   The international community must prioritize the efficient and precise use of resources to more effectively tackle the ways that conflict and climate change are deepening public health crises around the world.   Proven, scalable solutions like childhood immunization programs, investments in infection prevention and control and support for local systems geared toward malnutrition treatment and food security are all potent examples of the way forward.   http://www.rescue.org/press-release/world-health-summit-begins-irc-highlights-growing-public-health-risk-climate-change   Oct. 2024   Up to 21,000 people are dying each day from conflict-fuelled hunger around the world. (Oxfam International)   As many as 21,000 people are likely dying each day from hunger in countries impacted by conflict, according to a new Oxfam report published on World Food Day.   The report, Food Wars, examined 54 conflict-affected countries and found that they account for almost all of the 281.6 million people facing acute hunger today. Conflict has also been one of the main causes of forced displacement in these countries, which has globally reached a record level today of more than 117 million people.   It argues that conflict is not only a primary driver of hunger, but that warring parties are also actively weaponizing food itself by deliberately targeting food, water and energy infrastructure and by blocking food aid.   "As conflict rages around the world, starvation has become a lethal weapon wielded by warring parties against international laws, causing an alarming rise in human deaths and suffering. That civilians continue to be subjected to such slow death in the 21st century, is a collective failure”, says Emily Farr, Oxfam’s Food and Economic Security Lead.   “Today’s food crises are largely manufactured. Nearly half a million people in Gaza – where 83% of food aid needed is currently not reaching them - and over three quarters of a million in Sudan, are currently starving as the deadly impact of wars on food will likely be felt for generations.”   The report also found that the majority of the countries studied (34 out of 54) are rich in natural resources, relying heavily on exporting raw products. For example, 95% of Sudan’s export earnings come from gold and livestock, 87% of South Sudan’s come from petroleum products, and nearly 70% of Burundi’s come from coffee.   In Central America, meanwhile, mining operations have led to violent conflicts, uprooting people from their homes as they no longer become able to live in degraded and polluted environments.   Oxfam argues that current peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction efforts are too often based on encouraging more foreign investment and export-related economies. However, this focus on economic liberalization can instead create more inequality, suffering and the potential for conflict to resume.   “It is no coincidence that the lethal combination of war, displacement and hunger has often occurred in countries rich in natural resources. The exploitation of these raw commodities often means more violence, inequality, instability, and renewed conflict. Too often, large-scale private investment—both foreign and domestic —has also added to political and economic instabilities in these countries, where investors seize control over land and water resources forcing people out of their homes,” said Farr.   Conflict often compounds other factors like climate shocks, economic instability and inequalities to devastate people’s livelihoods. For example, climate shocks like droughts and floods, coupled with the surge in global food prices associated with pandemic shut-downs and additional food-chain disruptions connected to the Russia-Ukraine war, have fueled the hunger crises in East and Southern Africa.   Many of those fleeing are women and children. Aisha Ibrahim, age 37, told Oxfam that she had to walk four days with her four children, leaving their home in Sudan for Joda, across the border in South Sudan. She left her husband behind to protect their home. “I used to live in a proper home. I could never imagine myself in this situation,” she said.   The international community’s pledge of “zero hunger” by 2030 remains out of touch. Oxfam says that states and institutions globally, including the UN Security Council, must hold to account those committing “starvation crimes” in accordance with international law.   “To break the vicious cycle of food insecurity and conflict, global leaders must tackle head-on the conditions that breed conflict: the colonial legacies, injustices, human rights violations, and inequalities – rather than offering quick band-aid solutions.”   “We cannot end conflict by simply injecting foreign investments in conflict-torn countries, without uprooting the deep inequalities, generational grievances, and human rights violations that fuel those conflicts. Peace efforts must be coupled with investment in social protection, and social cohesion building. Economic solutions must prioritize fair trade and sustainable food systems,” said Farr.   http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/21000-people-are-dying-each-day-conflict-fuelled-hunger-around-world http://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/food-wars-conflict-hunger-and-globalization-2022-2023/
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