A record 49.5 million people in West and Central Africa are expected to go hungry next year due to a combination of conflict, climate change and high food prices," the UN said.
The figure is 4% higher than in 2023. In coastal countries, the number of people facing acute hunger is expected to reach 6.2 million in 2024, up 16% from this year , according to a new regional analysis of food security published by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and other humanitarian agencies, TVP World reported.
"Acute hunger remains at record high levels in the region, but the funding needed to respond is not keeping pace," said Margot Vandervelden, WFP's regional director for West Africa.
"Insufficient funding means that those suffering from moderate hunger will be forced to skip meals and consume less nutritious food, putting them at risk of falling back into a crisis or emergency situation, perpetuating the cycle of hunger and malnutrition," she added.
The analysis found that more than 2 in 3 households in West and Central Africa cannot afford a healthy diet.
The cost of daily nutritious food in the central Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger is 110% higher than the daily minimum wage in the region.
According to the UN, the countries of the Sahel are facing a new Islamist insurgency, which has already forced about 4 million people to leave their homes and agricultural lands.
The Democratic Republic of Congo also has multiple ongoing conflicts that have displaced nearly 7 million people.
The crisis in the Sahel has prompted people to seek refuge in neighboring coastal states such as Ivory Coast, Togo and Ghana, which are struggling with the worst economic crisis in a generation.
"Nearly 80% of people who are currently food insecure are in conflict-affected areas," said Olo Sib, Senior Research Adviser at SPP.
He warned that without intervention, the situation in some areas could worsen further, with more than 2.6 million people at risk of starvation. /BGNES
