27.2 C
Accra
Saturday, December 14, 2024
WorldU.N. cutting food rations in Sahel amid 'alarming' food insecurity

Date:

U.N. cutting food rations in Sahel amid ‘alarming’ food insecurity

Up to 18 million people in Africa’s drought-stricken Sahel region will face severe food insecurity over the next three months, the United Nations warned Friday.

A spokesman for the World Food Programme (WFP), Tomson Phiri, told a regular press briefing in Geneva that the organization was facing a “severe shortage of funds” to help these people.

“The needs are very high, but resources are low,” he said, which has forced the agency to reduce the food aid rations it distributes in some countries in the region.

In Chad, for example, low funding levels have forced WFP to reduce emergency rations for IDPs and refugees by 50 percent since June 2021. If donors do not provide more funds, WFP will also have to stop providing cash assistance in early July in some parts of the country.

According to projections by the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), up to 18 million people in the Sahel region will face severe food insecurity over the next three months, “the highest number since 2014.

This situation is the result of a combination of factors, according to the UN, which cites conflict, the Covid pandemic, drought and rising food prices.

“In the Sahel, 7.7 million children under the age of five are expected to suffer from malnutrition. 1.8 million of them are severely malnourished and if aid operations are not intensified, this number could reach 2.4 million by the end of the year,” said an Ocha spokesman, Jens Laerke.

“The situation has reached alarming levels in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger, where people will experience emergency levels of food insecurity during the lean season between June and August,” he added.

The “lean season” is the period when the previous year’s crops are consumed while the current year’s crops are not yet harvested.

The United Nations has released $30 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to help the affected communities.

Source: Africa news

[forminator_poll id="710479"]

Latest stories

GCAG congratulates Mahama, calls for immediate action on illegal mining

The Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey (GCAG) has extended warm...

Litigation is expensive, seek council before land purchase – Expert warns

Property expert and lawyer Alex K. Osei-Owusu has urged...

I am still in shock! – NPP stalwart over election defeat

The Greater Accra Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic...

This term is about making lasting impacts – John Mahama on resetting Ghana

President-elect John Dramani Mahama has promised that his second...

WAPCo restores gas supply to Tema following brief interruption

The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) has resumed...

Bawumia could get another shot at presidency in 2028 – Political scientist

A political scientist specializing in democracy and development, Dr....

20% of NPP supporters have switched to NDC – Global Info Analytics

The Executive Director and Head of Global Research at...

Related stories

Biden grants full pardon to son Hunter amid criminal sentencing

US President Joe Biden has granted a full and...

Court issues 2-year suspended death sentence to former Bank of China Chair for bribery, others

Former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange on Tuesday received...

Ghanaians among UN peacekeepers injured in Southern Lebanon attacks

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has reported...

Russia denies Trump told Putin to restrain Ukraine war efforts

The Kremlin has rejected media reports suggesting that US...

More than 100 detained as protesters defy Amsterdam’s ban on protests

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in Amsterdam on...

Traffic jam erupts as cyclists from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng for dumplings

A social media trend that began as a lighthearted...

Adin Ross wins $1.6m on Trump election bet after public endorsement

American streamer and social media influencer Adin Ross scored...