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	Impacts of climate change undermining food insecurity in multiple countries by MSF, OCHA, CARE, Action Against Hunger, agencies   Mar. 2023 (World Health Organization, WFP)   The Greater Horn of Africa is one of the world’s most vulnerable geographical areas in relation to impacts of climate change and is currently experiencing one of the worst food insecurity situations in decades. It is estimated that more than 46 million people are in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 or above.   The sub-region is home to a large pastoralist population with significant vulnerabilities. Currently, the region, which includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda is experiencing rising food insecurity due to extreme climate events such as drought and flooding, as well as conflict, socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and volatile food and fuel prices, all of which are contributing to the creation of a huge humanitarian crisis. Regardless of future rainfall performance, the recovery period from a drought this severe will take years, with extremely high humanitarian needs even set to increase in 2023.   As malnutrition increases both the likelihood of falling sick and the severity of disease1, a food crisis is therefore a health crisis. In addition, sick people become more easily sick. Many people must choose between food and health care, with serious implications both for conditions that need long-term treatments, such as tuberculosis (TB) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and non-communicable disease, but also for routine preventive health care services - including for reproductive, maternal and child health – with grave consequences.   Disruptions in access to health care can further increase morbidity and mortality, as fragile livelihoods force communities to modify their health-seeking behavior and prioritize access to immediate life-saving assets such as food and water. In addition, displacement often further interrupts utilization of health care services, including preventive services like vaccinations.   More than 46 million people across the region are estimated to be in a ‘crisis’ situation (IPC 3 or worse), within which approximately 275 000 people across Somalia and South Sudan are experiencing a ‘catastrophe’ (IPC phase 5) situation.   In areas affected by food insecurity, outbreaks of communicable diseases are a major public health concern, particularly against a backdrop of often low immunization rates (exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic), insufficient health service coverage and the devastating combination of malnutrition and disease. Pregnant and lactating women, newborns, children, the elderly, and people living with chronic diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are particularly vulnerable.   While finding food and safe water is a priority, health considerations are essential to avert preventable disease and death.   http://www.who.int/emergencies/funding/outbreak-and-crisis-response-appeal/2023/2023-appeals/appeal-horn-of-africa http://www.emro.who.int/somalia/news/somalia-calls-for-help-as-18-million-somali-children-under-5-experience-acute-malnutrition-and-health-complications.html http://www.trocaire.org/news/fact-check-is-hunger-in-somalia-getting-worse/ http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/one-five-persons-dont-have-enough-water-drought-stricken-east-africa http://www.wfp.org/emergencies/somalia-emergency http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somalia-humanitarian-response-plan-february-2023 http://www.wfp.org/emergencies/south-sudan-emergency http://www.wfp.org/emergencies/kenya-emergency http://www.wfp.org/emergencies/sudan-emergency http://www.wfp.org/emergencies/ethiopia-emergency http://www.wfp.org/stories/child-malnutrition-mounts-un-agencies-issue-call-action   New study finds that 43,000 “excess deaths” may occurred in 2022 from the drought in Somalia. (WHO, UNICEF)   WHO Representative Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik, commenting on the study findings, said that:   “We are racing against time to prevent deaths and save lives that are avoidable. We have seen, deaths and diseases thrive when hunger and food crises prolong. We will see more people dying from disease than from hunger and malnutrition combined if we do not act now. The cost of our inaction will mean that children, women and other vulnerable people will pay with their lives while we hopelessly, helplessly, witness the tragedy unfold.”   Dr Malik added that: “From the very beginning of this drought, WHO has clearly stated that the drought is a health crisis as much as it is a food and climate crisis. WHO’s main concern has been to prevent excess deaths directly or indirectly attributed to drought with a special focus on women and children under 5. As such, WHO has stepped up its life-saving integrated health interventions throughout 2022 and would continue to do so in 2023 to avert every preventable death in Somalia.”   “These results present a grim picture of the devastation brought on children and their families by the drought,” said UNICEF Representative Wafaa Saeed.   “We are saddened by these deaths, and we know there could have been many more deaths had humanitarian assistance not been scaled up to reach affected communities. We must continue to save lives by preventing and treating malnutrition, providing safe and clean water, improving access to life-saving health services, immunizing children against deadly diseases such as measles and providing critical protection services.”   Somalia is enduring five consecutive seasons of failed rains, the longest in recent memory, which has left 5 million people in acute food insecurity and nearly 2 million children at risk of malnutrition. The United Nations needs more than US$ 2.6 billion to meet the priority needs of 7.6 million people in 2023.   http://www.emro.who.int/somalia/news/new-study-finds-that-43000-excess-deaths-may-have-occurred-in-2022-from-the-drought-in-somalia.html   22 Dec. 2022 (UNICEF)   The number of children suffering dire drought conditions across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has more than doubled in five months, according to UNICEF.   Around 20.2 million children are now facing the threat of severe hunger, thirst and disease, compared to 10 million in July, as climate change, conflict, global inflation and grain shortages devastate the region.   “While collective efforts have mitigated some of the worst impact of what had been feared, children in the Horn of Africa are still facing the most severe drought in more than two generations,” said UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Lieke van de Wiel.   "Humanitarian assistance must be continued to save the lives of the staggering number of children and families who are being pushed to the edge – dying from hunger and disease and being displaced in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock.”   Nearly two million children across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are currently estimated to require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of hunger.   Across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia water insecurity has more than doubled with close to 24 million people now confronting dire water shortages.   “As governments and people across the world prepare to welcome a New Year, we urge the international community to commit to responding to the urgent needs of children in the Horn of Africa,” says Lieke van de Wiel. “We need a global effort to mobilize resources urgently to reduce further devastating and irreversible damage to children in the Horn of Africa. We must act now to save children’s lives and protect their futures.”   http://www.nrc.no/news/2022/december/famine-already-present-and-killing-tens-of-thousands-in-somalia/ http://insideclimatenews.org/news/11122022/kenya-somalia-africa-famine-hunger-climate-change/   Nov. 2022   Immediate global action required to prevent Famine in the Horn of Africa   Global solidarity is urgently needed to help vulnerable communities in the Horn of Africa survive a rapidly unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, driven by the longest and most severe drought in recent history that is expected to continue well into 2023.   Humanitarian and development actors must urgently prepare for the continuation of life-saving assistance in response to extremely high humanitarian needs through to next year. The Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia drought response plans are only 50 percent funded despite escalating needs, severely limiting humanitarian agencies’ capacities to respond. More funds are required immediately to save lives before it is too late.   Already, 20.9 million people are highly food insecure (IPC Phase 3+) due to the two-year drought, including 3.4 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) in Kenya and Somalia and 300,560 people in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) in Somalia. In southern Ethiopia, IPC compatible analyses show widespread Emergency (IPC Phase 4) area classifications and indicate that there are likely households in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5). In Somalia, parts of Bay region are projected to face Famine (IPC Phase 5) while several other central and southern areas face a Risk of Famine by the end of the year.   Significant increases in severe acute malnutrition admissions to nutrition treatment programmes have been observed across the region. Overall, 7.46 million children under the age of five are estimated to face acute malnutrition, including 1.85 million facing its severe form.   Over 23 million people face daily household water insecurity. The drought impacts on health risks are also significant, and multiple ongoing disease outbreaks, including measles and cholera, for which health outcomes are worse when combined with malnutrition, are major public health concerns.   There is a urgent need for global support and solidarity to avert a Famine (IPC Phase 5) in the months ahead. During the 2011 drought, 260,000 people died in Somalia, with the majority of deaths occurring before a Famine (IPC Phase 5) was declared. The world should not allow a repeat of what occurred in 2011.   Given rising death rates in many areas, the size of the affected population, and the likely duration of the crisis, the cumulative levels of excess mortality could become as high as in 2011. We cannot and must not wait for a Famine (IPC Phase 5) to be declared, or for additional rainy seasons to fail, to act. http://t.co/jPP10NPtzq   http://www.nutritioncluster.net/news/joint-statement-immediate-global-action-required-prevent-famine-horn-africa http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130292 http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-75/en/ http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/wfp-regional-drought-response-plan-horn-africa-january-december-2023 http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-tough-months-ahead-rains-fail-fifth-season-row-millions-need-urgent-food-assistance http://fews.net/east-africa http://fews.net/global/food-assistance-outlook-brief/december-2022   June 2022   'Explosion of child deaths' imminent in Horn of Africa if world does not act immediately - UNICEF   Over 20 million people and at least 10 million children are currently facing severe drought conditions due to the failure of four consecutive dry seasons, with the 2022 March-May rainy season likely to be the driest on record, killing livestock and crops, displacing populations, increasing the risk of disease and malnutrition, and pushing children and families to the brink of death / destitution.   Weather forecasts already suggest temperatures will climb higher than usual in the coming weeks. In addition, early forecasts suggest an increased probability of another below-average rainy season between October and December 2022.   Communities are taking extreme measures to survive, with thousands of children and families leaving their homes in pure desperation in search of water and food. This is a water crisis and more than 8.5 million people, including 4.2 million children, are facing dire water shortages in the region.   UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Rania Dagash:   "I am here to tell you plainly that, if the world does not widen its gaze from the war in Ukraine, and act immediately, an explosion of child deaths is about to happen in the Horn of Africa.   Severe Acute Malnutrition   "An estimated 386,000 children in Somalia are now in desperate need of treatment for life-threatening severe acute malnutrition - now exceeding the 340,000 children who required treatment at the time of the 2011 famine.   "The number of children facing this most deadly form of malnutrition has increased by more than 15 per cent in the space of five months.   "Across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, more than 1.7 million children are in urgent need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition.   "Four rainy seasons have failed in the space of two years – killing crops and livestock and drying up water sources. Forecasts suggest the next October to December rains are likely to fail too.   "All three countries have recorded a significantly higher number of severely malnourished children admitted for treatment in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021:   In Ethiopia, admissions were 27 per cent higher. In Somalia, admissions were 48 per cent higher. In Kenya, admissions were 71 per cent higher.   "Death rates are also concerning. This year, in some of the worst affected areas in the Horn of Africa, three times as many children have already died from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications in in-patient treatment centres compared to the whole of the previous year.   "Between February and May, the number of households without reliable access to clean and safe water almost doubled – from 5.6 million to 10.5 million.   War in Ukraine   "The lives of children in the Horn of Africa are also at increased risk because of the war in Ukraine. Somalia alone used to import 92 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine – but supply lines are now blocked. The war is exacerbating spiralling global food and fuel prices, meaning many people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia can no longer afford the basic foodstuffs they need to survive.   "UNICEF and other agencies have been repeatedly sounding the alarm bell on this crisis. We sincerely thank the donors who have made contributions – it is their support that has enabled us to respond the way we’ve been able to until now. But our appeal is still drastically underfunded – we have under a third of what we need this year.   "The international community – led by the G7 who will meet in Germany in June - needs to commit new, additional funding now to save lives. Focus on Ukraine cannot lead to neglect of other crises and ultimately more loss of life.   "If I may, let me end by sharing the story of just two of those children facing the impending catastrophe I have outlined. "I am just back from Somalia. At a health centre in the border town of Dollow I met Ismayel and her one-year-old twin boys – Salman and Libaan. She is pregnant but the devastating effects of the drought had forced her to walk 120km to get her sons treatment for malnutrition.   "Many children will not make it so far. I heard of children being buried along the roadside as their families make desperate, long treks to seek help.. And we fear the worst is just around the corner.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/explosion-child-deaths-imminent-horn-africa-if-world-does-not-act-immediately-unicef http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/watchlist-crisis-alert-unnatural-disaster-east-africa http://bit.ly/3Qte8Ac http://news.un.org/en/audio/2022/06/1119882 http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/regional-call-action-horn-africa-drought-crisis-climate-change-here-now-may-2022 http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/horn-africa-drought-humanitarian-update-10-june-2022 http://www.concern.net/press-releases/horn-africa-crisis-irish-charities-come-together-sound-alarm-famine-looms http://odi.org/en/events/late-again-on-the-verge-of-famine-in-the-horn-of-africa/ http://www.savethechildren.net/news/child-malnutrition-rates-soar-eastern-ethiopia-once-lifetime-drought-strikes   Apr. 2022   15 million people facing severe hunger as drought grips the Horn of Africa. (WFP)   The Horn of Africa is experiencing the driest conditions recorded since 1981, with severe drought leaving an estimated 15 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia facing severe hunger in the first quarter of this year, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.   Three consecutive failed rainy seasons have decimated crops and caused abnormally high livestock deaths. Shortages of water and pasture are forcing families from their homes and leading to increased conflict between communities. Further forecasts of below-average rainfall are threatening to worsen and compound dire conditions in the coming months.   "Harvests are ruined, livestock are dying, and hunger is growing as recurrent droughts affect the Horn of Africa," said Michael Dunford, Regional Director in the WFP Regional Bureau for Eastern Africa. "The situation requires immediate humanitarian action and consistent support to build the resilience of communities for the future."   The drought has impacted pastoral and farmer populations across southern and south-eastern Ethiopia, south-eastern and northern Kenya and south-central Somalia. The impacts are compounded by increases in staple food prices, inflation, and low demand for agricultural labour, further worsening families' ability to buy food. Malnutrition rates also remain high across the region and could worsen if no immediate action is taken.   Across the three drought-affected countries, WFP is providing life saving food and nutrition assistance to affected communities. As needs across the Horn of Africa grow, immediate assistance is critical to avoid a major humanitarian crisis, like the one the world witnessed in 2011 when 250,000 people died of hunger in Somalia. This week WFP launches its Regional Drought Response Plan for the Horn of Africa, calling for US$ 327 million to respond to immediate needs of 4.5 million people over the next six months and help communities become more resilient to extreme climate shocks.   http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/horn-africa-drought-humanitarian-key-messages-25-april-2022 http://www.wfp.org/stories/horn-africa-drought-late-rains-ethiopia-kenya-and-somalia-are-inflaming-hunger-warns-wfp http://unocha.exposure.co/in-my-70-years-i-have-not-seen-anything-as-severe-as-this http://www.wfp.org/news/13-million-people-facing-severe-hunger-drought-grips-horn-africa http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/joint-fao-ocha-unicef-wfp-statement-drought-emergency-somalia http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-visits-drought-impacted-somali-region http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/urgent-action-needed-avert-risk-famine-somalia http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-60/en/ http://www.iom.int/news/15-million-people-face-humanitarian-crisis-due-drought-horn-africa http://www.savethechildren.net/news/global-donors-urged-move-quickly-prevent-starvation-and-death-millions-somalia-ethiopia-and   http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/News/2022/31/05/A-country-by-country-guide-worsening-drought-in-the-Horn-of-Africa http://bit.ly/3MqUPUR http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/horn-africa-drought-humanitarian-key-messages-23-march-2022 http://www.wvi.org/newsroom/almost-8-million-people-eastern-africa-including-vulnerable-children-face-acute-hunger-0 http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/many-28-million-people-across-east-africa-risk-extreme-hunger-if-rains-fail-again http://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/horn-africa-drought-humanitarian-key-messages http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-55/en/ http://bit.ly/3GO2w4E http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/story/record-drought-and-increasing-conflicts-threaten-millions-severe-hunger-horn-africa-warns http://www.mercycorps.org/blog/war-ukraine-food-security http://reliefweb.int/report/world/spiralling-costs-surging-conflict-and-soaring-climate-disasters-create-desperate-future   Apr. 2022   West Africa faces its worst food crisis in ten years, with over 27 million people already suffering from hunger, report 11 humanitarian agencies. (Reliefweb)   An additional 11 million people could be pushed to hunger just over the next three months   West Africa is hit by its worst food crisis in a decade, with 27 million people going hungry. This number could rise to 38 million this June - a new historic level and already an increase by more than a third over last year- unless urgent action is taken. This alert is issued by eleven international organizations in response to new analyses of the March 2022 Cadre Harmonisé (CH), ahead of the virtual conference on the food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel and Lake Chad organized by the European Union and the Sahel and West Africa Club.   Over the past decade, far from abating, food crises have been increasing across the West African region, including in Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali, and Nigeria. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of people in need of emergency food assistance nearly quadrupled, from 7 to 27 million.   “Cereal production in some parts of the Sahel has dropped by about a third compared to last year. Family food supplies are running out. Drought, floods, conflict, and the economic impacts of COVID-19 have forced millions of people off their land, pushing them to the brink" says Assalama Dawalack Sidi, Oxfam's regional director for West and Central Africa.   "The situation is forcing hundreds of thousands of people to move to different communities and to live with host families who are already living in difficult conditions themselves. There is not enough food, let alone food that is nutritious enough for children. We must help them urgently because their health, their future and even their lives are at risk," said Philippe Adapoe, Save the Children's director for West and Central Africa.   Malnutrition is steadily increasing in the Sahel. The United Nations estimated that 6.3 million children aged 6-59 months will be acutely malnourished this year - including more than 1.4 million children in the severe acute malnutrition phase - compared to 4.9 million acutely malnourished children in 2021.   "I had almost no milk left so I gave my baby other food. He often refused to take it and lost weight. In addition he had diarrhea, which worsened his condition," said Safiatou, a mother who had to flee her village because of the violence in Burkina Faso.   Dramatic impacts on the future of children   In addition to conflict and insecurity, pockets of drought and poor rainfall distribution have reduced communities' food sources, especially in the Central Sahel. To make up for the gap, many families are selling their assets, jeopardizing their productive capacity and the future of their children. Young girls may be forced into early marriage and other forms of gender-based violence may increase as food becomes scarcer.   "The rains were scarce. There is no more food. With the lack of grazing, the sheep are getting thinner and this forces us to sell them at a loss. I used to have twelve sheep, but now I only have one left”, explains Ramata Sanfo, a herder from Burkina Faso. "I would like to have my cattle back so that I have enough money and my children can go back to school."   The crisis in Europe worsens an already disastrous situation   Food prices have increased by 20-30 percent over the past five years in West Africa. While food reserves are dwindling in the Sahel, the crisis in Ukraine is making the situation dangerously worse. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, food prices could rise by another 20 percent worldwide, an unbearable increase for already fragile populations. In addition, the crisis is likely to cause a significant decrease in wheat availability for six West African countries that import at least 30 percent, and in some cases more than 50 percent, of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine.   Another likely effect of the crisis in Europe is a sharp drop in international aid to Africa. Many donors have already indicated that they may make cuts in their funding to Africa. For example, Denmark has announced that it will postpone part of its bilateral development assistance to Burkina Faso (50 percent in 2022) and to Mali (40 percent in 2022) rather than fund the reception of people who have fled their homes in Ukraine with new money.   "The conference on the Sahel crisis scheduled for tomorrow is a unique opportunity to mobilize the necessary emergency food and nutrition assistance and to prove that the lives of people in Africa are not worth less than those in Europe," says Assalama Dawalack Sidi.   "There should be no competition between humanitarian crises," says Mamadou Diop, regional representative of Action Against Hunger. "The Sahel crisis is one of the worst humanitarian crises on a global scale and, at the same time, one of the least funded. We fear that by redirecting humanitarian budgets to the Ukrainian crisis, we risk dangerously aggravating one crisis to respond to another."   Humanitarian organizations are urging governments and donors not to repeat the failures of 2021, when only 48 percent of the humanitarian response plan in West Africa was funded. They must immediately close the $4 billion funding gap in the UN appeal for West Africa to save lives and ensure that these funds support age-, gender-, and disability-sensitive interventions. No one should be left behind.   * The eleven international organizations participating in this press release are Oxfam, Action Against Hunger, Save the Children, CARE International, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), Tearfund, World Vision (WV), Handicap International - Humanité & Inclusion and Mercy Corps.   According to the March 2022 analysis of the Cadre harmonisé (CH), 38.3 million people will be in food and nutrition crisis in June-August if nothing is done, compared to 27.3 million in the same period in 2021, an increase of 40.2% in one year. By country, the projections of people in phase 3 to 5 for June-August 2022 in the most affected countries are: Nigeria (19.5 million), Burkina Faso (3.5 million), Niger (4.4 million), Chad (2 million), Mali (1.8 million).   In 2020, Unicef estimated that 29 million children under the age of 5 (between 6 and 23 months) were stunted (+26%) in the region, up from 22 million in 2000. Other data on malnutrition are from the UNICEF/World Food Programme Hotspot 2022 analysis.   According to the Réseau de prévention des crises alimentaires (RPCA), cereal production in 2021 in the Sahel has declined by 12% and 7%, compared respectively to the 2020 season and the five-year average. The most pronounced declines compared to the 2020 season are observed in Niger (-36%), Mauritania (-18%), Burkina Faso (-10%), Gambia (-8%), and Chad (-6%).   According to the FAO, Burkina Faso and Togo import at least 30% of their wheat from Russia, while Senegal, Liberia, Benin and Mauritania import more than 50% of their wheat mainly from Russia, but also from Ukraine (for Senegal).   Several commodities have increased in price over the past five years in West Africa: Maize (+30%), Millet (+26%), Sorghum (+24%), Rice (+18%). Read also U.N. agency warns Ukraine war could trigger 20% food price rise.   According to UNHCR, more than 4.6 million people are currently displaced or refugees in the Central Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger), Chad, and Mauritania, 2 million more than in 2020.   http://reliefweb.int/report/burkina-faso/west-africa-faces-its-worst-food-crisis-ten-years-over-27-million-people-already http://www.wfp.org/news/food-and-oil-price-hikes-drive-costs-cash-strapped-wfp-operations-west-africa-region-faces http://reliefweb.int/report/burkina-faso/18-million-people-sahel-face-severe-hunger-over-next-three-months http://www.nutritioncluster.net/news/urgent-action-needed-holistically-address-child-malnutrition-west-and-central-africa http://unocha.exposure.co/cut-off-from-the-world http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/story/35-million-people-threatened-hunger-crisis-sahel http://www.wfp.org/stories/sahel-millions-risk-hunger-and-displacement-rise-warns-wfp http://www.icrc.org/en/document/across-africa-disaster-goes-largely-unnoticed-food-security-crisis http://www.rescue.org/article/3-ways-ukraine-conflict-will-drive-hunger-other-crisis-zones   Mar. 2022   Families pushed to the limit as South Sudan braces for its worst hunger crisis ever. (WFP)   More than seventy percent of the South Sudanese population will struggle to survive the peak of the lean season this year as the country grapples with unprecedented levels of food insecurity caused by conflict, climate shocks, covid, and rising costs, warns the United Nations World Food Programme.   While global attention remains fixated on Ukraine, a hidden hunger emergency is engulfing South Sudan with about 8.3 million people in South Sudan – including refugees – set to face extreme hunger in the coming months as the 2022 lean season peaks, food becomes scarce and provisions are depleted, according to the latest findings published in the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview. Particularly at risk are tens of thousands of South Sudanese who are already severely hungry following successive and continuous shocks and could starve without food assistance.   South Sudan forms part of a ‘ring of fire’ encircling the globe where climate shocks, conflict, covid-19, and rising costs are driving millions closer to starvation. The impact of the climate crisis and ongoing conflict have led to large scale displacement, livelihoods losses, the destruction of arable land and crops as well as rising food prices — threatening the survival of communities living in some of the most isolated areas in the States of Jonglei, Lakes, Unity and Warrap.   “The extent and depth of this crisis is unsettling. We’re seeing people across the country have exhausted all their available options to make ends meet and now they are left with nothing,” said Adeyinka Badejo, Deputy Country Director of the World Food Programme in South Sudan.   http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-forced-suspend-food-assistance-south-sudan-funds-dry-and-nation-faces-hungriest-year http://www.wfp.org/news/families-pushed-limit-south-sudan-braces-its-worst-hunger-crisis-ever http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-61/en/   Feb. 2022   36 million people in ten countries highly food insecure due to conflict, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. (IPC)   Millions of people continue to experience high levels of acute food insecurity in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, exacerbated by conflict, drought, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic decline. Around 36 million people in ten countries are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia.   As of February 22, 2022, Integrated Food Insecurity Phase Classification (IPC) analyses (conducted between June and November 2021) showed that, out of 167 million people analysed, 36 million people were classified in IPC Phase 3 or above. This means people can meet minimum food needs but only by depleting essential livelihood assets or through crisis or emergency coping strategies. The countries hosting the worst-affected populations, classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), include Angola, DRC and Madagascar.   The IPC Acute Food Insecurity analyses, conducted by National Vulnerability Assessment Committees (NVAC) comprised of government, humanitarian and development partners, recommend the provision of immediate humanitarian assistance in areas where people are in Crisis or Emergency (IPC Phase 3 or 4) to reduce food deficits. They also recommend improving water and sanitation conditions, housing and COVID-19 mitigation measures, and strengthening household livelihoods.   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-56/en/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/ http://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/east-africa-key-message-update-scale-food-assistance-needs-east-africa-continues   Jan. 2022   Chad: “If the rain abandons us again, we don’t know what we will do”. (MSF)   Khadidja Iba sits on a colourful mat in the waiting area of a therapeutic feeding centre that Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has set up at a health centre in Massakory, a small town in Chad’s Sahel belt. The mother of six has walked for two hours to bring her youngest child, nine-month-old Sara, for a follow-up visit. The child has been enrolled in MSF’s nutrition programme for a month.   After an assessment with MSF’s health staff, Khadidja receives a week’s worth of bright red packages of Plumpy’Nut, a high-energy peanut paste used to treat malnutrition, that she will feed the baby with until her next assessment the following week.   MSF teams launched a nutrition response in Chad’s Hadjer Lamis province in September 2021, after receiving an alert about a significant number of severe acute malnutrition cases in the area – more than 28,000 predicted for 2021 – and learning that only one of the province’s five health districts was receiving support.   Malnutrition is a recurrent, chronic crisis in Chad, and especially affects children under five and pregnant and lactating women. The causes of malnutrition are complex, and include poor harvests, inadequate dietary choices as well as socio-cultural factors. In 2021, the situation was exacerbated by an unusually short rainy season.   “There was very little rain last year. It was worse than any year I remember,” says Khadija. “We harvested hardly anything. We need to buy vegetables at the market, but everything costs almost double now. We don’t have enough to eat.”   "We are afraid of the future. All we can do is wait for the next rains. If the rain abandons us another time, we don’t know what to do", says Osman Abakar, a village resident near Massakory.   Lack of water adds to crisis   Food insecurity is not the only worry of people living in this arid, inhospitable region. An even bigger concern for many is a lack of water.   “We have two wells in my village, but it’s not enough for all the people and animals. I have to pump for five to six minutes to get water,” says Khadidja Mahamat. “The water tastes bad; we mostly give it to the animals. To get drinking water, I go by donkey to another village. It takes me one-and-a half hours each way.”   The bad quality of the water causes diarrhoea and other health issues, increasing the risk for children of being malnourished.   MSF teams treat children in therapeutic feeding centres in seven health districts of the province and support the treatment of severely malnourished children in Massakory hospital. Teams also visit remote villages in the area to teach mothers how to prevent and detect malnutrition in children. Health promoters show mothers how to use MUAC bands, a colour-coded paper band that is wrapped around a child’s arm and indicates if a child is healthy, slightly or severely malnourished.   “There is some fear that the worst is yet to come, that the hunger gap will start earlier than usual and that it could be longer and more severe,” says Ibrahim Barrie, MSF medical team leader. “It’s a continuous crisis, no longer just a hunger gap.”   “At the same time, funding for nutrition and food security in Chad has gone down,” continues Barrie. “We need a better aid response to prevent children from dying from malnutrition.”   The Sahel region is considered one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change, with rising temperatures, erratic rainfalls and increasing desertification. Over the last 10 years, Chad’s Saharan and Sahelian zones have spread 150 kilometres south, resulting in reduced farming and pasture areas.   http://www.msf.org/lack-rainfall-exacerbates-already-dire-malnutrition-situation-chad http://www.wfp.org/countries/chad http://www.msf.org/south-sudan-hundreds-thousands-still-living-precarious-conditions-months-after-floods
	Price Shocks: Rising food prices threaten milions by World Vision, Oxfam, UNICEF, FAO, IFAD, agencies   Oct. 2022   Price Shocks: Rising food prices threaten milions. (World Vision)   Conflict, climate change, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fallout from the Ukraine crisis are interacting to create new and worsen existing hunger hotspots around the world.   These overlapping crises are reversing the gains many families have made to escape poverty. While global food prices have somewhat stabilised after reaching record highs, in many countries around the world, they continue to climb.   High food prices are exacerbating existing humanitarian crises and putting the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable children at risk as policymakers are slow to take necessary large-scale action.   Ongoing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and supply chain shocks have driven up the prices of food, fuel, and key agricultural inputs, keeping food prices elevated while access to employment and income have not bounced back to pre-pandemic conditions.   Conflict remains a dominant driver of the most severe incidences of acute hunger crises around the world. Children living in conflict zones are over two times more likely to suffer from malnutrition than children living in peaceful settings.   The war in Ukraine continues to affect global supply chains of food, fertiliser, and other key agricultural inputs such as seed, disrupting flows to import-dependent countries at a time of heightened need.   Fifty million people are on the brink of starvation, with populations in Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan, and Afghanistan experiencing catastrophic (IPC 5) levels of hunger.   An additional 1 in 5 people – 39 million more people – are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2022 than in 2021 (a 21% increase).   The gap between humanitarian needs and the resources required to address them continues to grow. We are now seeing the largest-ever gap between resources required to meet the needs of the 41 humanitarian responses and the funding secured, with a current shortfall of US$32.9 billion.   http://www.wvi.org/publications/hunger-crisis/price-shocks-rising-food-prices-threaten-lives-thousands-children   July 2022   2.3 billion people were food insecure in 2021   A new United Nations report provides fresh evidence that the world is moving further away from its goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms.   The 2022 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report presents updates on the food security and nutrition situation around the world, including the estimates of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet. The report also looks at ways in which governments can repurpose their current support to agriculture to reduce the cost of healthy diets.   The report is jointly published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).   The numbers paint a sobering picture:   2.3 billion people in the world (29.3 percent) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021 – 350 million more compared to before the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Nearly 924 million people (11.7 percent of the global population) faced food insecurity at severe levels, an increase of 207 million in two years.   Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, reflecting the effects of inflation in consumer food prices stemming from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it.   An estimated 45 million children under the age of five were suffering from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases children’s risk of death by up to 12 times. 149 million children under the age of five had stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients in their diets.   Progress is being made on exclusive breastfeeding, with nearly 44 percent of infants under six months of age being exclusively breastfed worldwide in 2020. This is still short of the 50 percent target by 2030. Of great concern, two in three children are not fed the minimum diverse diet they need to grow and develop to their full potential.   As this report is being published, the ongoing war in Ukraine, involving two of the biggest global producers of staple cereals, oilseeds and fertilizer, is disrupting international supply chains and pushing up the prices of grain, fertilizer, energy, as well as ready-to-use therapeutic food for children with severe malnutrition.   This comes as supply chains are already being adversely affected by increasingly frequent extreme climate events, especially in low-income countries, and has potentially sobering implications for global food security and nutrition.   “This report repeatedly highlights the intensification of these major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks, combined with growing inequalities,” the heads of the five UN agencies write in this year's Foreword. “The issue at stake is not whether adversities will continue to occur or not, but how we must take bolder action to build resilience against future shocks.”   UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, said that the figures in the report were a "shocking report card of our efforts to end hunger - we can, and must, do better."   She underlined that billions of people have limited or rationed their food intake, or started eating food that is less nutritious, because they just can't afford alternatives.   "These are people whose lives, livelihoods and prospects for a fruitful and dignified life are being crippled, with their futures eroded and potential and aspirations held back", she said.   WFP Executive Director David Beasley: “There is a real danger these numbers will climb even higher in the months ahead. The global price spikes in food, fuel and fertilizers that we are seeing as a result of the crisis in Ukraine threaten to push countries around the world into famine. The result will be global destabilization, starvation, and mass migration on an unprecedented scale. We have to act today to avert this looming catastrophe.”   “A staggering 50 million people in 45 countries are just one step from famine," said Mr. Beasley.   UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell: “The unprecedented scale of the malnutrition crisis demands an unprecedented response. We must double our efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable children have access to nutritious, safe, and affordable diets -- and services for the early prevention, detection and treatment of malnutrition. With so many children’s lives and futures at stake, this is the time to step up our ambition for child nutrition – and we have no time to waste.”   IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo: “These are depressing figures for humanity. We continue to move away from our goal of ending hunger by 2030. The ripple effects of the global food crisis will most likely worsen the outcome again next year. We need a more intense approach to end hunger.”   WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “Every year, 11 million people die due to unhealthy diets. Rising food prices mean this will only get worse. WHO works to support countries’ efforts to improve food systems through taxing unhealthy foods and subsidising healthy options, protecting children from harmful marketing, and ensuring clear nutrition labels. We must work together to achieve the 2030 global nutrition targets, to fight hunger and malnutrition, and to ensure that food is a source of health for all.”   The number of people unable to afford a healthy diet around the world rose by 112 million, to almost 3.1 billion in 2020, the report says.   People not being able to afford the diet they need for a healthy life means “hundreds of millions are at risk of falling into a vicious circle of malnutrition, ill health and poverty,” said Saskia de Pee, Chief of Analytics and Science for Food and Nutrition at WFP.   “In the longer term this also leads to reduced ‘human capital’ development, poorly nourishing the next generation.” She added: “For many it’s really about how much money do you have available to spend and what can you buy with that.   “Bridging the affordability gap and mitigating its immediate consequences for food security and nutrition requires all hands on deck. Working together with governments, partners, private sector, civil society and academia across the humanitarian-development nexus, we need to strengthen agriculture, social protection, health and education systems.”   The “nutritional needs of adolescent girls, of women, especially if they're pregnant or breastfeeding,” are paramount, said de Pee. “Their diets need to have more minerals and vitamins, such as iron, zinc, vitamin B12 in them.”   “People’s diet costs really go up – if food already accounts for 60 or 70 percent of their expenditure, when food becomes 30-40 percent more expensive, people will start to cut back. The quality of that diet will then really not support all your needs to live a healthy, productive life.”   Access to healthy diets is set to be further restricted as income losses due to COVID-19 are yet to be factored in while inflation continues to affect consumer food prices, placing basic foods out of reach for millions.   Governments must do “anything that can help stabilize prices”, said de Pee. “You want to support the population in the country so that their purchasing power doesn't drop aggressively – this means upscaling social assistance programmes".   As the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine drive up inflation and reduce people’s purchasing power, it is more important than ever for governments to support agriculture in ways that reduces the cost of a healthy diet.   Joyce Njoro, IFAD Lead Technical Specialist, Nutrition said:   "The SOFI report underlines the stark realities of the state of food and nutrition security in the world today. More people are hungry. More people are food insecure. Billions of people cannot afford a healthy diet. While there has been some progress on stunting and exclusive breastfeeding, anaemia among women of reproductive age has increased. In short, the world is far off-track to achieving SDG 2 on zero hunger and eradicating all forms of malnutrition.   At the same time, inequality is widening, with developing countries, countries in fragile situations, rural areas, and women being disproportionately affected by food and nutrition insecurity. While COVID-19 is a major driver, climate change is also compounding these issues. The war in Ukraine and its impacts across the globe will inevitably worsen the 2022 outlook unless drastic measures are taken now.   While the report’s suggestion to repurpose agricultural policies is interesting, low-income countries have fewer options to do so without some form of trade-off. These are also the countries most affected by hunger and malnutrition, as well as the impacts of climate change and conflict. Since there is no “one size fits all” solution, a combination of policy repurposing options should be considered for low- and middle-income countries.   A concerted effort is needed to protect the gains achieved in previous years and reinforce the resilience of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world".   In reaction to FAO’s “State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World 2022” report, Hanna Saarinen, Oxfam Food Policy Lead said:   “It is deeply concerning that global hunger has been spiralling since 2019 and is now at such devastating levels around the world. This is happening not because of a shortage of food but rather as a consequence of a broken food system further undermined by conflicts, the effects of the COVID pandemic and worsening climate change.   “Despite this being a global food crisis, seeing millions of people going hungry today, food billionaires' wealth has reached stratospheric levels – increasing by $382bn just over the last two years.   “Our food system has for years perpetuated inequality, impoverished small-scale farmers and pushed millions of vulnerable people into hunger while wreaking havoc on the climate.   “Longstanding political failure to address how we feed all the people in the world has made our food system susceptible to fragility and failure".   “We will not break the vicious cycle of hunger and food inflation without addressing the deep inequalities fuelling them. We must fundamentally reimagine a new, more just and sustainable global food system – one that serves the planet and millions of people, rather than a handful of big agribusinesses".   “To save lives now, rich donor governments must honour their promised funding pledges. For example, to date, less than 20% of the $3.8bn UN appeal for the Central Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin has been funded. The East Africa region, which is witnessing its worst drought in recent history and where as many as 28 million people face extreme hunger, and thousands are already starving, has received less than 15% of its nearly $7bn UN appeal to date.   “Governments must stop making empty promises or creating more bureaucratic processes. Instead, they need to invest in small-scale food producers. They need to repurpose our global agriculture and food system to better serve the health of people, our planet, and our economies.   “Developed countries must also free up more resources in order to invest in diverse, local sustainable food production that helps countries to become less dependent on food imports; and support smallholder food producers, especially women.”   http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1122032 http://www.wfp.org/news/un-report-global-hunger-numbers-rose-many-828-million-2021 http://www.wfp.org/stories/sofi-report-record-hunger-rise-un-study-says http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0639en http://data.unicef.org/resources/sofi-2022/ http://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/the-latest-food-security-and-nutrition-report-paints-a-grim-picture.-three-ifad-experts-react-to-the-shocking-figures http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/oxfam-reaction-fao-sofi-report-2022-broken-food-system-perpetuating-hunger http://gnrtfn.org/peoples-monitoring/   Apr. 2022   Unprecedented levels of global food insecurity - Oxfam International   Over a quarter of a billion more people could crash into extreme levels of poverty in 2022 because of COVID-19, rising global inequality and the shock of food price rises supercharged by the war in Ukraine, reveals a new Oxfam brief today.   “First Crisis, Then Catastrophe”, shows that 860 million people could be living in extreme poverty — on less than $1.90 a day — by the end of this year. This is mirrored in global hunger: the number of undernourished people could reach 827 million in 2022.   The World Bank had projected COVID-19 and worsening inequality to add 198 million extreme poor during 2022, reversing two decades of progress. Based on research by the World Bank, Oxfam now estimates that rising global food prices alone will push 65 million more people into extreme poverty, for a total of 263 million more extreme poor this year —equivalent to the populations of the UK, France, Germany and Spain combined.   “Without immediate radical action, we could be witnessing the most profound collapse of humanity into extreme poverty and suffering in memory,” said Oxfam International executive director Gabriela Bucher. “This terrifying prospect is made more sickening by the fact that trillions of dollars have been captured by a tiny group of powerful men who have no interest in interrupting this trajectory.”   As many people struggle now to cope with sharp cost-of-living increases, having to choose between eating or heating or medical bills, the likelihood of mass starvation faces millions of people already locked in severe levels of hunger and poverty across East Africa, the Sahel, Yemen and Syria.   The brief notes that a wave of governments is nearing a debt default and being forced to slash public spending to pay creditors and import food and fuel. The world’s poorest countries are due to pay $43 billion in debt repayments in 2022, which could otherwise cover the costs of their food imports. Global food prices hit an all-time high in February, surpassing the peak crisis of 2011. Oil and gas giants are reporting record-breaking profits, with similar trends expected to play out in the food and beverage sectors.   People in poverty are being hit harder by these shocks. Rising food costs account for 17 percent of consumer spending in wealthy countries, but as much as 40 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Even within rich economies, inflation is super-charging inequality: in the US, the poorest 20 percent of families are spending 27 percent of their incomes on food, while the richest 20 percent spend only 7 percent.   For most workers around the world, real-term wages continue to stagnate or even fall. The effects of COVID-19 have widened existing gender inequalities too — after suffering greater pandemic-related job losses, women are struggling to get back to work. In 2021, there were 13 million fewer women in employment compared to 2019, while men’s employment has already recovered to 2019 levels.   The report also shows that entire countries are being forced deeper into poverty. COVID-19 has stretched all governments’ coffers but the economic challenges facing developing countries are greater, having been denied equitable access to vaccines and now being forced into austerity measures.   Despite COVID-19 costs piling up and billionaire wealth rising more since COVID-19 than in the previous 14 years combined, governments — with few exceptions — have failed to increase taxes on the richest. An annual wealth tax on millionaires starting at just 2 percent, and 5 percent on billionaires, could generate $2.52 trillion a year —enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the world, and deliver universal healthcare and social protection for everyone living in low- and lower middle-income countries.   “We reject any notion that governments do not have the money or means to lift all people out of poverty and hunger and ensure their health and welfare. We only see the absence of economic imagination and political will to actually do so,” Bucher said.   “Now more than ever, with such scale of human suffering and inequality laid bare and deepened by multiple global crises, that lack of will is inexcusable and we reject it. The G20, World Bank and IMF must immediately cancel debts and increase aid to poorer countries, and together act to protect ordinary people from an avoidable catastrophe. The world is watching”.   Oxfam is calling for urgent action to tackle the extreme inequality crisis threatening to undermine the progress made in tackling poverty during the last quarter of a century.   Introduce one-off and permanent wealth taxes to fund a fair and sustainable recovery from COVID-19. Argentina adopted a one-off special levy dubbed the ‘millionaire’s tax’ that has brought in around $2.4 billion to pay for pandemic recovery.   End crisis profiteering by introducing excess profit taxes to capture the windfall profits of big corporations across all industries. Oxfam estimated that such a tax on just 32 super-profitable multinational companies could have generated $104 billion in revenue in 2020.   Cancel all debt payments for developing countries that need urgent help now. Cancelling debt would free up more than $30 billion in vital funds in 2022 alone for 33 countries already in or at high risk of debt distress.   Boost aid and pay for Ukrainian assistance and the costs of hosting refugees with new funding, rather than shift aid funds earmarked for other crises in poorer countries.   Reallocate at least $100 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDR), without burdening countries with new debt or imposing austerity measures. The G20 promised to deliver $100 billion in recycled SDRs but only $36 billion has been committed to date. A new SDR issuance should also be considered and distributed based on needs rather than countries’ quota shares at the IMF.   Act to protect people from rising food prices, and create a Global Fund for Social Protection to help the poorest countries provide essential income security for their populations, and maintain these services in times of severe crisis.   http://www.oxfam.org/en/research/first-crisis-then-catastrophe   Mar. 2022 (Plan International)   The devastating crisis in Ukraine and the need to prevent it from becoming a conflict-hunger and nutrition crisis means we must not wait until Ukraine reaches food security emergency levels to react. At the same time, we must ensure the global hunger crisis is not further aggravated - particularly in the 20 hunger hotspots.   Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Central African Republic and the countries in the Central Sahel, among others, are facing alarming levels of food insecurity. With a third of world wheat supplies coming from Ukraine and Russia, hunger could increase across the world. Popularly known as the ‘bread basket of Europe’, and home to the world’s most fertile soil, Ukraine has for years supplied the world with sunflower oil, barley, maize, and wheat, as well as fertilisers.   Knock-on effects on food crises   “The Sahel region of West Africa, already stricken by hunger, relies on wheat supplies from Ukraine,’ says Sven Coppens, Director, Plan International, Coastal West Africa. “The conflict in Europe will trigger even higher food prices, meaning it can only worsen the hunger crisis in countries here such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.   Now, just at the start of the spring harvest season, the war in Ukraine means fields won’t be prepared, crops won’t be planted, fertilisers won’t be available; bringing potentially devastating consequences not only for children caught up in the conflict, but for the entire world, particularly those places already crippled by hunger.   Furthermore, according to the UN, sanctions on procurement from and transaction with Russia could have a ripple effect on humanitarian operations in West and Central Africa, while operations relying on imports transiting through Russian territory might also be disrupted.   Global food prices are rising   Before last week, global food prices were already rising at an alarming rate, and a spiralling hunger crisis currently envelopes huge swathes of West and Central Africa, East Africa and other countries such as Bangladesh, Haiti and Honduras.   Conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic are contributing to a dramatic escalation in food insecurity, and it is estimated that an unprecedented 283 million people may already be acutely food insecure or at high risk in 80 countries. The crisis in Ukraine will mean disrupted supply chains and even higher prices, which could have far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for people who are already acutely hungry.   “Many of these nations that are food insecure are already dealing with conflict, and the combination of hunger, conflict and COVID-19 make the humanitarian impacts very serious. The increasing violence and insecurity in the region, large-scale population displacements due to active hostilities with deteriorating socio-political and armed conflicts, climate change.”   Number of food insecure people continues to rise   In 2022, over 61 million people were already projected to require assistance and protection in the West and Central Africa region. The number of food insecure people has been on the rise there, with more than 22 million people food insecure, and 2021 saw a drastic increase in humanitarian needs in the Central Sahel.   On the other side of the continent, more than 20 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in urgent need of food and water. Millions of families’ harvests have failed, while thousands of their livestock - which pastoral families rely upon for sustenance and livelihoods - are emaciated or dead.   In East Africa, food prices have for many months been rising in drought-affected areas, due to a combination of macro-economic challenges and below-average harvests, leaving families unable to afford even basic items. Meanwhile, many water points are dry, forcing women and girls to walk longer distances to access water and increasing the risk that they may face gender-based violence.   Additional risks for girls during crises   The impacts of escalating crises on children and girls, particularly, are disastrous. Gender norms and entrenched gender inequalities mean girls and young women often eat less and last when food is scarce, and their nutritional needs may take a back seat to those of boys and men. When food is scarce, families increasingly resort to negative coping mechanisms to survive. For adolescent girls, this often means that the risk of child, early and forced marriage - and with it, their risk of early pregnancy increases.   Plan International welcomes the rapid support for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and advocates that a food security and nutrition crises in Ukraine and refugee-receiving countries be avoided. All humanitarian funds to alleviate the suffering of people affected by this conflict must be additional, and must not at any time be diverted from already scarce financing for existing crises.   “The humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine and neighbouring countries is having a devastating impact on children, and it is vital we respond,” he says. “At the same time, we must ensure that we continue to support children in other critical and underfunded humanitarian crises taking place globally.”   http://plan-international.org/news/2022-03-04-ukraine-crisis-will-have-catastrophic-impact-global-hunger   * The OCHA Global Humanitarian Overview 2022:   "Last year’s warnings of unprecedented levels of global food insecurity have been confirmed. Up to 811 million people worldwide were undernourished in 2020, an approximate rise of 161 million from the previous year". The Oxfam/World Bank estimation: "undernourished people could reach 827 million by the end of 2022" is likely to be a most significant under-estimation of the real figure. Further the World Bank estimations of the number of people living in extreme poverty is also a significant under-estimation of the real figure. See UNU report - Above or below the poverty line, by Andy Sumner and Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez.   http://gho.unocha.org/trends/hunger-rise-unprecedented-levels-food-insecurity-require-urgent-action-prevent-famine http://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/above-or-below-poverty-line Visit the related web page
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