Â鶹ÊÓƵ is sounding the alarm over a deepening child malnutrition crisis in Afghanistan, warning that funding shortfalls are forcing life-saving food and nutrition programmes to be scaled back at the very moment they are needed most.
Escalating attacks across northern Nigeria are driving displacement, restricting humanitarian access and pushing more people into severe food insecurity. Areas where food aid was suspended due to funding shortfalls are hardest hit.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ has scaled-up its emergency response in Akobo East, South Sudan, delivering vital food and nutrition assistance to hundreds of thousands of people facing catastrophic hunger and malnutrition, even as insecurity, infrastructure damage and the onset of the rainy season continue to hamper operations.
A hunger emergency is looming on the border between South Sudan and Sudan as families fleeing fighting in Sudan continue to cross the border every day. New data gathered by Â鶹ÊÓƵ shows that among the nearly 300,000 people who have arrived in South Sudan in the last five months, one in five children are malnourished and 90 percent of families say they are going multiple days without eating.
South Sudan is on the frontlines of the climate crisis and millions in the country are living the daily reality of a worsening climate. More than one million people have been impacted by an unprecedented, multi-year flood event that is sweeping the nation, exacerbating high levels of hunger caused by ongoing conflict and the global food crisis.
In Somalia, historic drought, compounded by insecurity is displacing thousands and sending hunger and malnutrition rates soaring. Famine is projected in Baidoa and Burkhaba districts before the end of the year if the situation continues to worsen and assistance doesn¡¯t reach those who need it.
In Somalia, the United Nation Â鶹ÊÓƵ is delivering life-saving assistance to more people than ever before, reaching 3.7 million people with relief and over 300,000 with nutrition support - but famine is now an imminent reality unless immediate and drastic action is taken.
The UN Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) is expanding assistance in the Horn of Africa as levels of hunger soar after back-to-back droughts and the threat of famine looms. Since the start of the year, nine million more people have slipped into severe food insecurity across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, leaving 22 million people struggling to find enough food to eat
The Â鶹ÊÓƵ is launching Five Calls to Action to address today¡¯s record-high humanitarian needs as leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US, and UK prepare to meet ¨C ending conflict is high on the agenda.
1. Commit to political solutions to end conflicts now ¨C including the immediate reopening of all Black Sea ports
2. Ensure trade is open to deliver grains, oil and fuel
3. Support and join global and regional initiatives to combat global hunger and food insecurity
4. Fill Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s current funding gap to ensure that today¡¯s crises do not multiply or increase the number of people facing hunger around the globe
5. Invest in strategic development solutions that build resilient communities and foster climate actions, social protection, and sustainable food systems, allowing humanitarian and development organisations to change lives over the long term. In this way, we will set the world on a path towards broader stability and peace.
Yemen is spiraling into a catastrophe as humanitarian funding dries up, forcing the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) to scale back food assistance to millions of hungry families, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Executive Director David Beasley warned today, as he ended a two-day visit to the conflict-ravaged country.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing the driest conditions recorded since 1981, with severe drought leaving an estimated 13 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia facing severe hunger in the first quarter of this year, the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) warned.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ warns that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine (IPC4/Emergency or worse) in 43 countries has risen to 45 million, as acute hunger spikes around the world. This number has risen from 42 million earlier in the year and 27 million in 2019
The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Executive Director, David Beasley, is urging the world to step-up and take action after bearing witness to the invisible crisis enveloping Southern Madagascar, where whole communities are teetering on the edge of starvation. Southern Madagascar is experiencing its worst drought in four decades with more than 1.14 million people food insecure. Of those, an estimated 14,000 people are already in catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5) and this will double to 28,000 by October. Â鶹ÊÓƵ has been working closely with the Malagasy government and other partners since late last year to address severe hunger. However, as the crisis deepens those efforts must be intensified. Last week Beasley met with the Prime Minister and senior officials to identify immediate and long-term solutions to this crisis.
Alarming new data has today confirmed the magnitude of the hunger emergency gripping Tigray, where at least 4 million people face severe hunger and 350 000 of them are facing famine. The lack of information on people¡¯s food security in western Tigray in the IPC analysis (ipcinfo.org) is also deeply worrying.
The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ has swiftly mounted an emergency food assistance operation deploying more than 180 staff and increasing food distributions to reach 1.4 million people, yet that is barely half of the number we should be reaching. Other agencies are also struggling to reach many of the rest of Tigray¡¯s hungry.
Three things are needed to prevent hunger from claiming millions of lives in Tigray; a ceasefire, unimpeded access for Â鶹ÊÓƵ and partners to all areas, and the money to expand our operations to meet the growing numbers of people who desperately need emergency food assistance.
Mozambique¡¯s Cabo Delgado province is in the grips of a spiraling crisis as thousands of people flee their homes amidst violence, warns the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ.
Recent attacks in Palma have affected 50,000 people. Many have fled Palma to Pemba on boats making their perilous journey over choppy waters. Thousands are still trapped in Palma and Quitunda, and Â鶹ÊÓƵ is working round the clock to secure access to those most in need. Â鶹ÊÓƵ has also been using boats from Pemba to reach those in remote areas, on surrounding coastal islands.
Conflict continues to drive hunger in northern Mozambique as more than 950,000 people now face severe hunger. Â鶹ÊÓƵ is in the process of scaling-up its response in northern Mozambique, with plans to assist 750,000 internally displaced people and vulnerable members of the local community across the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Niassa, and Zambezia.
The number of hungry people in Central America has nearly quadrupled over two years. Devastating hurricanes compounded economic shocks caused by COVID-19 leaving millions without an income and many planning to migrate.
Agricultural and coastal communities in the Dry Corridor have borne the brunt of a years-long climate emergency that was exacerbated by hurricanes Eta and Iota last year. They are struggling to meet even their most basic needs.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ calls on the international community to support its efforts in Central America to provide immediate assistance to hard-hit communities and build their resilience.
DAMASCUS ¨C After a decade of upheaval, conflict and displacement, Syrians are facing the worst humanitarian conditions since the start of the crisis, with millions of people sliding into hunger in the last year alone, according to the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ.
Syrians are facing multiple shocks, including the collapse of the Syrian pound, its impact on the price of basic commodities, the fall-out from the financial crisis in Lebanon, as well as the ongoing hostilities and large-scale displacement. The Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the food security situation.
Nearly 2.3 million children under the age of five in Yemen are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, four United Nations agencies warned today. Of these, 400,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and could die if they do not receive urgent treatment.
The new figures, from the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Acute Malnutrition report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ), the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, mark an increase of 16 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, from 2020.
The agencies also warned that these were among the highest levels of severe acute malnutrition recorded in Yemen since the escalation of conflict in 2015.
Three consecutive years of drought coupled with a sharp recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic will leave a third of the population in Southern Madagascar struggling to put food on the table. With severe malnutrition rates continuing to spiral and many children forced to beg in order to help their families eat, urgent action is required to prevent a humanitarian crisis.
The window to prevent famine in Yemen is narrowing as new figures reveal record highs of acute food insecurity in the country, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) and UNICEF warned today.
¡°These alarming numbers must be a wake-up call to the world. Yemen is on the brink of famine and we must not turn our backs on the millions of families who are now in desperate need. Make no mistake, 2021 will be even worse than 2020 for Yemen¡¯s most vulnerable people. Famine can still be prevented ¨C but that opportunity is slipping away with every day that passes,¡± said David Beasley, Executive Director of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ.
