Nourishment
Millions in north-east Africa are at risk of starvation
Ethiopia is one of the countries threatened by hunger. photo
© Ben Curtis/AP/dpa
Drought, flooding and conflict mean that 60 million people already do not always know when their next meal will be. And it could get worse.
Millions of people are at risk of starvation in north-east Africa and the lack of financial support makes it difficult for UN humanitarian organizations to help. In the seven countries in the region, 60 million people do not always know where to get their next meal, said Dominique Ferretti of the UN World Food Program (WFP) emergency response team in Nairobi. 5.1 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished in the region.
In Somalia and South Sudan, 83,000 people are in dire need and often only have a chance to eat a few times a week, Ferretti said. In Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, the rainy season is going better than expected, but that’s not enough.
The region (Igad) on the Horn of Africa and further west also includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. The crisis is triggered by conflicts such as the recent power struggle in Sudan, the aftermath of the corona pandemic, outbreaks of Ebola and Cholera and high food prices, in addition to unprecedented drought in some parts and floods in others. According to the WFP, the number of people at risk of starvation in East Africa rose from 26 million in 2016 to 60 million in 2022.
situation could get worse
The UN organizations need more money for the region. The appeal for donations from the World Health Organization (WHO) in the amount of 178 million US dollars is less than 20 percent covered, said WHO representative Liesbeth Aelbrecht. Millions of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children are malnourished. “The lives of these children hang by a thread,” she said.
It would be an additional disaster if the UN initiative to export grain from Ukraine is not renewed in July, Ferretti said. “Ukraine has always been the breadbasket for Africa and the Middle East.”
Russia blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports after invading Ukraine in February 2022. Eventually, Moscow allowed internationally monitored grain exports. But it always threatens not to extend the program any further.