The following is a short statement from Patrick Youssef, Africa regional director for the International Committee of the Red Cross, following the launch of UN’s The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report paints a picture of a hungrier world. These findings match what our teams see every day in conflict zones across Africa. Today, more than 80% of people in Africa facing food insecurity live in places affected by conflict.
In the Sahel, drought and climate crises have robbed millions of people from having enough to eat. Today in Burkina Faso alone 3.5 million people need food assistance. On the other side of the continent in Somalia, the worst drought in years has come on top of decades of conflict and violence and threatening the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable.
We tragically expect levels of hunger and malnutrition to worsen in 2023 as conflicts grind on and climate crises are more frequent and severe. The International Committee of the Red Cross is working with our Red Cross and Red Crescent partners across Africa to provide food, treatment for malnutrition, and other lifesaving relief, but the needs are too vast for humanitarian aid to meet on its own.
We need the international community to double down on efforts to improve food security and livelihoods in the long run so that communities no longer face hunger crises year after year that leave families without enough to eat.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
