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	Global military expenditure reaches record high of $2440bn as critical aid is cut to millions by Global Network Against Food Crises, agencies   Global military expenditure reaches record high of $2440bn as critical aid is cut to millions   As the United Nations Global Humanitarian funding appeal, the World Food Programme, UNICEF, UNHCR, the Red Cross and humanitarian agencies face serious shortfalls in funding to address the most urgent needs of over 300 million people in crisis, news agencies report bumper profits for billionaires, record company super profits and a new world record for global military spending.   The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) reports global military spending of $2440 billion in 2023.   Global military expenditure has reached a record high of $2440bn after the largest annual rise in government spending on arms in over a decade, according to a report. The 6.8% increase between 2022 and 2023 was the steepest since 2009, pushing spending to the highest recorded by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in its 60-year history.   The two largest spenders – the United States (37%) and China (12%) – made up around half of global military spending, increasing their expenditure by 2.3% and 6% respectively. While dwarfed by the US in military spending, China, as the world’s second biggest spender, allocated an estimated $296bn in 2023, an increase of 6% on 2022. Russia, India, Saudi Arabia and the UK follow in Sipri’s league table.   http://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2024/global-military-spending-surges-amid-war-rising-tensions-and-insecurity   The Forbes 2024 Billionaires list reports that the number of worldwide billionaires grew by 141 in the past year, with 2,781 people holding wealth that exceeds $1 billion. These people own combined assets of $14.2 trillion, exceeding the gross domestic product of every country in the world except the U.S. and China.   Their collective wealth has risen by 120% in the past decade, at the same time as billions of people across the world have seen their living standards decrease in the face of inflation and the cost of living crisis.   Taxing windfall profits of fossil fuels and financial companies. (ActionAid, Oxfam)   In the two years running up to June 2023, 36 companies (14 in fossil fuels and 22 in the banking sector), made windfall profits of US$424 billion. These are not their overall profits, these are just the profits that are above and beyond their normal profits.   In the last two years, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and high inflation and interest rates in much of the world have helped contribute to the bumper profits of fossil fuels companies and the banking sector. By applying a 90% tax on these windfall profits, close to US$382bn could be raised. This money is urgently needed to address hunger, for climate action, to protect vulnerable communities and to build resilience through improved social protection and public services.   Sep. 2024   Global Report on Food Crises 2024 Mid-Year Update - Food Security Information Network, agencies   In the Sudan, Famine (IPC Phase 5) is ongoing in the Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) site near El Fasher, North Darfur, and is expected to persist through October 2024. Many other areas throughout the country are at risk of Famine but insufficient data inhibited analysis for many hard-to-reach areas.   In total, 25.6 million people in the Sudan are estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity during the June–September lean season – a 26 percent increase since the same period in 2023. The conflict has also had severe implications for regional food and nutrition security, with more than 2 million people forced to flee to neighbouring countries, mainly to major food-crisis countries including Chad and South Sudan.   The Gaza Strip (Palestine) remains the most severe food crisis in the history of the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), with all 2.2 million residents still in urgent need of food and livelihood assistance between March and April 2024. The severity of the crisis has intensified, with half of the population in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) during this period, up from a quarter in December 2023–February 2024. Although this was projected to decrease to 22 percent in June–September 2024 and available evidence did not indicate Famine (IPC Phase 5), the risk of Famine persists.   Shocks, such as intensifying conflict, El Nino-induced drought and high domestic food prices drove worsening food crises in 18 countries by mid-2024. Nigeria, the Sudan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Chad and Yemen all had at least 1 million more people facing high levels of acute food insecurity than during the 2023 peak.   Forced displacement of people in food-crisis countries/territories continues to increase, with alarming numbers of people in the Gaza Strip and the Sudan exposed to very high levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition.   Acute malnutrition among children and women in food-crisis countries/territories is persistently high, especially in conflict-affected areas. The lack of affordability of a healthy diet is becoming an increasingly important driver.   Of the 14 countries without 2024 data, the Syrian Arab Republic was flagged by the latest FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots report as being of very high concern between June and October of 2024.   Somewhat better harvests led to some marginal improvements in food security in several countries. Afghanistan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala and Lebanon all had at least 1 million fewer people facing high levels of acute food insecurity since the 2023 peak, but they remain major food crises.   The global report highlights a concerning increase of child wasting, with critical levels in eight countries: Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Haiti, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, and Yemen.   http://www.fsinplatform.org/global-report-food-crises-2024-mid-year-update http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-director-child-nutrition-and-development-victor-aguayos-remarks-global-report   July 2024   Humanitarian responses across the world are desperately under-resourced, reports the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs   Global Humanitarian Overview 2024 Mid-year update: Cost of inaction. (OCHA)   In the face of major cuts in global funding, humanitarians prepared for 2024 by taking difficult decisions about who, and what, to include and exclude from humanitarian appeals around the world. Based on in-depth needs analyses, targets were tightened and tough choices were made, resulting in a reduction in the global appeal by more than $7 billion from 2023 to 2024 and a reduction in people targeted of 57.4 million.   However, as of the end of May, underfunding and access impediments combined to have devastating consequences, which were particularly acute given the already narrowed focus of the 2024 appeals:   With humanitarian operations globally just 16 per cent funded by the end of May, many humanitarian partners had to drastically reduce, and in some instances halt, critical programmes. While humanitarians were able to reach at least 39.7 million people with some form of humanitarian assistance in the first five months of the year, this represented just 27 per cent of people targeted. This comes on the back of a considerable reduction in people reached in 2023 (143 million), compared to 2022 (157 million), which coincided with a significant decrease in humanitarian funding.   Globally, more than 100 million targeted people (42 per cent) have not received water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance due to underfunding. Cuts in food assistance due to underfunding are leaving people at risk of starvation. As a result of underfunding, food security partners have had to reduce assistance to already vulnerable people, or abandon assistance to people experiencing acute levels of food insecurity (IPC 3). As a result, these people may go into emergency or catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC 4 and IPC 5, respectively).   Underfunding is leaving millions of people without access to the health services they need to survive. Underfunding of health services increase maternal and child mortality, heighten non-communicable disease risk, deprive children of crucial vaccination services, reduce disease prevention interventions, limit primary health care access for pregnant women, children and individuals with disabilities.   Internally displaced persons, refugees and migrants are facing very significant cuts in support, with major reductions in assistance to meet their basic needs.   The bottom line – underfunding costs lives. When people cannot be reached with humanitarian assistance, protection and services, their lives and livelihoods are on the line. It is therefore imperative that there be an immediate step-change and a dramatic increase in global giving in order to ensure that the response plans and appeals prepared by humanitarian partners for 2024 are fully funded.   20 June 2024   Millions of people are teetering on the brink of starvation, reports the World Food Programme (WFP)   Millions of people are teetering on the brink of starvation as conflict rages across many corners of the world. This year, over 309 million people are estimated to face acute levels of food insecurity in the 71 countries with WFP operations and where data is available. This number does not yet account for the rapid and alarming deterioration in Sudan, as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis results are not yet available.   An estimated 37.2 million people across 47 countries will be in Emergency or worse levels of acute food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 4 and above, including severely food insecure) in 2024, and require immediate emergency assistance to save lives and livelihoods.   An estimated 24.5 million children are predicted to be acutely malnourished in the 15 countries with the highest burden in 2024. The convergence of threats may further increase the number of children and pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls (PBWG) affected by acute malnutrition.   FAO and WFP have jointly warned that between June and October 2024, acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots.   The current funding landscape is affecting the entire humanitarian sector, forcing WFP – and many others - to scale back assistance and refocus efforts on the most severe needs. As a consequence, nearly all of WFP’s largest operations have reduced or plan to substantially reduce their operational plans.   Less funding means that WFP often has to reduce assistance to already vulnerable people, or abandon assistance to people in Crisis levels of acute food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 3). As a result, there is a real risk they may quickly fall into Emergency (IPC/CH Phase 4) and Catastrophe or Famine (IPC Phase 5) levels.   WFP programs between January to March 2024 provided humanitarian support 62 million of the most highly vulnerable people with food, cash, commodity vouchers, in comparison 93 million people were assisted during the same period last year. This represents 34% fewer people assisted this year, mainly due to reduced funding levels compounded by access constraints.   Food and cash assistance (CBT) distributed during the same periods imply a 50% decrease in food and 43% decrease in CBT, showing an even larger drop than the drop in beneficiaries assisted. This means that food or cash per ration have been reduced further in 2024’s first quarter compared to the same time last year.   Preliminary data for this year suggests that the impact of the funding gap on WFP beneficiaries may be even more severe throughout the year than initially anticipated. WFP monitoring data further highlights the negative consequences of assistance cuts, with rises in malnutrition, early marriage, migration, and child labour, alongside dips in school enrolment. Families are resorting to desperate strategies to cope, such as selling off critical household assets which in turn drive them deeper into poverty and deprivation.   http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2024-mid-year-update http://www.unocha.org/news/un-deputy-relief-chief-funding-shortages-force-tougher-aid-decisions http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories http://reliefweb.int/report/world/wfp-global-operational-response-plan-2024-update-11-june-2024-new-synopsis-format http://www.wfp.org/publications/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity-june-october-2024-outlook http://www.fsinplatform.org/report/global-report-food-crises-2024/ http://www.fao.org/emergencies/en http://www.wvi.org/publications/report/enough/ration-cuts-taking-hungry-feed-starving http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/hunger-hotspots/en http://www.ipcinfo.org/   http://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-global-operational-response-plan-update-10-february-2024 http://www.wfp.org/stories/2023-pictures-ration-cuts-threaten-catastrophe-millions-facing-hunger http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/press-releases/global-hunger-funding-gap-hit-65-percent-for-neediest-countries/ http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2024/ http://www.savethechildren.net/news/2023-review-nearly-16000-children-day-plunged-hunger-top-10-worsening-food-crises   Apr. 2024   Over 280 million people in 59 countries experiencing high levels of acute hunger - Global Network Against Food Crises   Dangerous levels of acute hunger affected at least 281.6 million people last year – the fifth year in a row that food insecurity has worsened – heightening growing fears of famine and “widespread death” from Gaza to Sudan and beyond.   According to the latest Global Report on Food Crises, more than one in five people in 59 countries faced acute food insecurity in 2023.   “When we talk about acute food insecurity, we are talking about hunger so severe that it poses an immediate threat to people's livelihoods and lives. This is hunger that threatens to slide into famine and cause widespread death,” said Dominique Burgeon, Director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Liaison Office in Geneva.   Food crises escalated alarmingly in 2023, the report’s authors noted, citing particular concerns over Gaza and Sudan today “where people are clearly dying of hunger”, said Gian Carlo Cirri, WFP Director, Geneva office.   After nearly seven months of conflict in Gaza, “people cannot meet even the most basic, food needs. They have exhausted all coping strategies. They are destitute and clearly some are dying of hunger,” Mr. Cirri said.   "The only way to halt the famine is to ensure daily deliveries of food supplies in a very short time. Like tomorrow, we really need to significantly increase our food supplies. This means rolling out massive and consistent food assistance in conditions that allow humanitarian staff and supplies to move freely and for affected people to access safely the assistance.”   “We are getting closer by the day to a famine situation. We estimate 30 per cent of children below the age of two are now acutely malnourished or wasted and 70 per cent of the population in the north is facing catastrophic hunger,” WFP’s Mr. Cirri said. “There is reasonable evidence that all three famine thresholds – food insecurity, malnutrition, mortality – will be passed in the next six weeks.”   On Sudan, the UN report notes that 20.3 million people – or 42 per cent of the population – struggled to find enough to eat last year, after conflict erupted in April. This represents the highest number of people in the world facing “emergency” levels of acute food insecurity, or phase four, in line with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warning scale, where phase five (IPC5) indicates the highest level of danger.   The report also warned that people in South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Mali likely endured the worst levels of food insecurity – IPC 5 – in 2023.   Data was not available for some countries where there have been enduring fears over food crises, including Ethiopia, the report’s authors noted, while also pointing out that in Haiti, thousands of people were identified as IPC5 from September 2022 to February 2023.   39 countries faced emergency – IPC4 – levels of acute food insecurity last year, including Sudan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Yemen.   “Households in this severe situation face large food gaps, which are either reflected in high acute malnutrition rates and excess mortality,” the Global Report on Food Crises noted.   Children and women are among those at the forefront of the hunger crises, with over 36 million children under 5 years of age acutely malnourished across 32 countries, the report shows. Acute malnutrition worsened among people displaced because of conflict and disasters in 2023.   Drivers of food crises   Intensifying conflict and insecurity, the impacts of economic shocks, and the effects of extreme weather events are continuing to drive acute food insecurity. These interlinked drivers are exacerbating food systems fragility, rural marginalization, poor governance, and inequality, and lead to massive displacement of populations globally. The protection situation of displaced population is additionally impacted by food insecurity.   Conflict remained the primary driver affecting 20 countries with nearly 135 million people in acute food insecurity – almost half of the global number. The Sudan faced the largest deterioration due to conflict, with 8.6 million more people facing high levels of acute food insecurity as compared with 2022.   Extreme weather events were the primary drivers in 18 countries where over 77 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity, up from 12 countries with 57 million people in 2022. In 2023, the world experienced its hottest year on record and climate related shocks impacted populations, with episodes of severe floods, storms, droughts, wildfires, and pest and disease outbreaks.   Economic shocks primarily affected 21 countries where around 75 million people were facing high levels of acute food insecurity, due to their high dependency on imported food and agricultural inputs, persisting macroeconomic challenges, including currency depreciation, high prices and high debt levels.   Tackling food crises requires urgent long-term national and international investment to boost agricultural and rural development alongside greater crisis preparedness and critical lifesaving assistance at scale, where people need it most.   Peace and prevention must also become an integral part of the longer-term food systems transformation. Without this, people will continue to face a lifetime of hunger and the most vulnerable will starve.   Since 2023, needs have outpaced available resources. Humanitarian operations are now desperately overstretched, with many being forced to scale-down and further cut support to the most vulnerable.   More equitable and effective global economic governance is imperative and must be matched with government led plans that seek to reduce and end hunger.   The Global Network Against Food Crises urgently calls for a transformative approach that integrates peace, prevention and development action alongside at-scale emergency efforts to break the cycle of acute hunger which remains at unacceptably high levels.   http://www.fsinplatform.org/report/global-report-food-crises-2024/ http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/articles/2024-financing-flows-and-food-crises-report-humanitarian-and-development-financing-food Visit the related web page
	World leaders need to prioritize humanitarian funding as acute hunger hits record levels by Carl Skau Deputy executive director of the World Food Programme   The United Nations World Food Program has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people in many countries because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations fall by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels, a top official said Friday.   Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told a news conference that at least 38 of the 86 countries where WFP operates have already seen cuts or plan to cut assistance soon — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and West Africa.   He said WFP’s operating requirement is $20 billion to deliver food assistance to reach 171.5 million people in great need, but it was being forced to plan for between $10 billion and $14 billion this year.   “We’re still aiming at that, but we have only so far this year gotten to about half of that, around $5 billion,” Skau said.   He said humanitarian needs were “going through the roof” in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and its global implications. “Those needs continue to grow, those drivers are still there,” he said, “but the funding is drying up. So we’re looking at 2024 being even more dire.”   “The largest food and nutrition crisis in history today persists,” Skau said. “This year, 345 million people continue to be acutely food insecure while hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger.”   Carl Skau said conflict and insecurity remain the primary drivers of acute hunger around the world, along with climate change, unrelenting natural disasters, persistent food price inflation and mounting debt stress — all during a slowdown in the global economy.   He urged the agency’s traditional donors to “step up and support us through this very difficult time.”   Asked why funding was drying up, Skau said to ask the donors. “But it’s clear that aid budgets, humanitarian budgets, both in Europe and the United States, are not where they were in 2021-2022”.   Mr. Skau said that in March, WFP was forced to cut rations from 75% to 50% for communities in Afghanistan facing emergency levels of hunger, and in May it was forced to cut food for 8 million people — 66% of the people it was assisting. Now, it is helping just 5 million people, he said.   In Syria, 5.5 million people who relied on WFP for food were already on 50% rations, Skau said, and in July the agency cut all rations to 2.5 million of them. In the Palestinian territories, WFP cut its cash assistance by 20% in May and in June. It cut its caseload by 60%, or 200,000 people. And in Yemen, he said, a huge funding gap will force WFP to cut aid to 7 million people as early as August.   In West Africa, where acute hunger is on the rise, Skau said, most countries are facing extensive ration cuts, particularly WFP’s seven largest crisis operations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.   He said cutting aid to people who are only at the hunger level of crisis to help save those literally starving or in the category of catastrophic hunger means that those dropped will rapidly fall into the emergency and catastrophe categories, “and so we will have an additional humanitarian emergency on our hands down the road.”   “Ration cuts are clearly not the way to go forward,” Skau said.   He urged world leaders to prioritize humanitarian funding and invest in long-tern solutions to conflicts, poverty, development and other root causes of the current crisis.   http://www.wfp.org/stories/2023-pictures-ration-cuts-threaten-catastrophe-millions-facing-hunger http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2023/12/13/wfp-aid-food-cuts-mean-people-hunger-crisis-around-world   Hunger Hotspots: FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity, November 2023 to April 2024 outlook   The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warn that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots – comprising a total of 22 countries during the outlook period from November 2023 to April 2024.   Burkina Faso, Mali, South Sudan and the Sudan remain at highest concern levels. Palestine was added to the list of countries/territories of highest concern due to the severe escalation of conflict in October 2023. These hotspots have populations that are facing or projected to face starvation (Catastrophe, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC]/Cadre Harmonisé [CH] Phase 5) or are at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions during the outlook period, given they have populations already facing critical food insecurity (Emergency, IPC/CH Phase 4) and are facing severe aggravating factors. These countries require urgent attention.   Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Pakistan, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen are hotspots of very high concern. All these hotspots have a high number of people facing or projected to face critical levels of acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life‐threatening conditions in the coming months.   Since the May 2023 edition, Chad, Djibouti, the Niger, Palestine and Zimbabwe have been added to the list of hunger hotspot countries/ territories, while the countries in the Dry Corridor of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) and Malawi remain hunger hotspot countries. The countries/territories and situations covered in this report highlight the most significant deteriorations of hunger expected in the outlook period, but do not represent all countries or territories with high levels of acute food insecurity.   Armed violence, in particular the trend of increased civilian targeting, will likely continue to underpin the ongoing upward trajectory in global displacement. The ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip are expected to further intensify and exacerbate the already dramatic humanitarian implications for the population in the outlook period, with the risk of potentially wider regional implications.   Instability and violence continue to surge in the Sahel region, from the recent coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and the Niger to the unabating conflict in the Sudan affecting neighbouring countries like Chad.   Between July and September 2023, the region accounted for 22 percent of all global fatalities generated by conflict. The requested withdrawal and ongoing drawdown of peacekeeping missions from Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia could amplify security voids, permitting increased non‐state armed group (NSAG) activities and attacks against civilians, and could cause constraints to humanitarian operations.   Insecurity and conflicts are poised to exacerbate already restricted access to, and availability of, food – through displacement, the disruption of markets and livelihoods, and especially the reduction or abandonment of cultivated areas, contributing to deepening protracted food crises.   International food prices remain high by historic standards, and are expected to come under increased upward pressure in the coming months due to oil price dynamics and the impact of El Nino conditions on agricultural production.   Ongoing or planned reductions and gaps in emergency food, agriculture and livelihood assistance affect several hunger hotspots of very high concern and highest concern, such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Palestine, Somalia, the Syrian Arabic Republic and Yemen, other hunger hotspots, such as Malawi, and countries or situations that require monitoring, such as Uganda and Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh).   Weather extremes, such as heavy rains, tropical storms, cyclones, flooding, drought and increased climate variability, remain significant drivers of acute food insecurity in some countries and regions.   The El Nino climatic shift has already had a negative impact on various regions, notably Southeast Asia and Latin America, and is anticipated to persist in the upcoming six months, notably affecting regions in East Africa, Southern Africa and Latin America. Continuous monitoring of forecasts and their impacts on production remains critical.   Urgent and scaled-up assistance is required in all 18 hunger hotspots to increase access to food and protect livelihoods. This is essential to avert a further deterioration of acute food insecurity and malnutrition. In the hotspots of highest concern, humanitarian support and actions are critical in preventing further starvation and death.   http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/hunger-hotspots/en/ http://www.wfp.org/stories/hunger-report-sounds-alarm-emergencies-risk-going-forgotten-amid-crisis-palestine http://reliefweb.int/report/burkina-faso/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity-november-2023-april-2024-outlook http://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-global-operational-response-plan-update-9-november-2023   Hunger Hotspots: FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity, June-November 2023   Acute food insecurity is set to increase in magnitude and severity in 18 hunger "Hotspots" comprising a total of 22 countries, for the period June to November 2023 a new UN early warning report has found.   The report spotlights the risk of a spill-over of the Sudan crisis - raising the risk of negative impacts in neighbouring countries, shows that deepening economic shocks continue to drive low- and middle-income nations deeper into crisis, and warns that a likely El Nino climatic phenomenon is raising fears of climate extremes in vulnerable countries around the globe.   The report also found that many hotspots are facing growing hunger and highlights the worrying multiplier effect that simultaneous and overlapping shocks are having on acute food insecurity. Conflict, climate extremes, and economic shocks continue to drive more and more communities into crisis.   The report, 'Hunger Hotspots - FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity issued today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) calls for urgent humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods and prevent starvation and death in hotspots where acute hunger is at a high risk of worsening from June to November 2023.   "Not only are more people in more places around the world going hungry, but the severity of the hunger they face is worse than ever," said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program.   "This report makes it clear: we must act now to save lives, help people adapt to a changing climate, and ultimately prevent famine. If we don't, the results will be catastrophic," Mr Skau warned.   "Business-as-usual pathways are no longer an option, if we want ensure that no one is left behind." said QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General. "We need to provide immediate interventions to pull people from the brink of hunger, help them rebuild their lives, and provide long-term solutions to address the root causes of food insecurity," he added.   The report warns of a major risk of El Nino conditions, which meteorologists forecast to emerge by mid-2023 with an 82 percent probability. The expected shift in climate patterns will have significant implications for several hotspots, including below-average rains in the Dry Corridor of Central America, and raises the spectre of consecutive extreme climatic events hitting areas of the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.   The spill-over from the crisis in the Sudan is driving massive population displacement and hunger among people forced from their homes in search of refuge and those hosting them -- the report warns. More than one million people are expected to flee the country while an additional 2.5 million inside the Sudan set to face acute hunger in coming months.   Sudan was already hosting over one million refugees -- and if the conflict persists hundreds of thousands are likely to return to their counties of origin -- many of which are already in the grips of underfunded and protracted refugee crises, compounded by social, political and economic stressors.   Supply routes for commercial and relief goods in and out of Port Sudan are being disrupted by insecurity, putting in jeopardy humanitarian assistance flows and regional relief efforts, the report notes.   Disruptions to trade, cross-border commercial activities, and supply chains risk also driving up prices and inflation and depleting foreign exchange reserves in several countries -- particularly in South Sudan -- a country that relies on Port Sudan for both commercial and humanitarian imports, as well as vital oil exports.   The report warns that displacement into neighbouring countries and disruptions to trade risk also driving tensions among displaced people, those hosting them and new arrivals, as many hard-hit countries are already grappling with significant numbers of displaced people competing for limited livelihood and labour opportunities -- particularly Chad and South Sudan - where fragile sociopolitical environments are at risk of deteriorating.   Economic shocks and stressors continue to drive acute hunger in almost all hotspots, reflecting global trends that are carrying over from 2022 when economic risks were driving hunger in more countries and for more people than conflict was. These risks are largely linked to the socioeconomic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ripple effect from the war in Ukraine.   2023 is expected to bring a global economic slowdown amid monetary tightening in high-income countries -- increasing the cost of credit, weakening local currencies, and further exacerbating the debt crisis in low- and middle-income economies.   The International Monetary Fund projects global GDP growth at 2.8 percent in 2023 -- the lowest level in ten years besides the COVID-19 induced plunge in 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa GDP will also grow 0.3 percent less than in 2022. Low- and middle- income countries are expected to be hit the hardest by the projected slow growth in their main export markets, alongside inflation rate hikes in high-income economies that will rely heavily on exports to advanced economies.   With global food prices likely to remain elevated compared with historical standards in coming months, macroeconomic pressures in low- and middle-income countries are unlikely to ease. This means that the subsequent drop in purchasing power will negatively affect families' access to food in coming months in many hotspots.   Key Findings   According to the report, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen remain at the highest alert level. Haiti, the Sahel (Burkina Faso and Mali) and Sudan have been elevated to the highest concern levels; this is due to severe movement restrictions to people and goods in Burkina Faso, Haiti and Mali, and the recent outbreak of conflict in the Sudan.   All hotspots at the highest level have communities facing or projected to face starvation, or are at risk of sliding towards catastrophic conditions, given they have already emergency levels of food insecurity and are facing severe aggravating factors. These hotspots require the most urgent attention, the report warns.   The Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan and Syria are hotspots with very high concern, and the alert is also extended to Myanmar in this edition. All these hotspots have a large number of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life‑threatening conditions in the coming months. Lebanon has been added to the list of hotspots, joining Malawi and Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) that remain hotspots.   Scaling up humanitarian action to prevent disasters   To avert a further deterioration of acute hunger and malnutrition, the report provides country-specific recommendations on priorities for immediate emergency response to save lives, prevent famine and protect livelihoods, as well as anticipatory action.   Humanitarian action will be critical in preventing starvation and death -- particularly in the highest alert hotspots, but the report notes how humanitarian access is constrained by insecurity, bureaucratic barriers, and movement restrictions - posing a major challenge to humanitarian responders around the globe.   The report also stresses the importance of strengthening anticipatory action in humanitarian and development assistance - ensuring predictable hazards do not become full-blown humanitarian disasters.   http://www.wfp.org/publications/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity-june-november-2023 http://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/increasing-risk-of-hunger-set-to-spread-in-hotspot-areas/en http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/hunger-hotspots/en/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/ Visit the related web page
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