About 60 million people across
Sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of acute hunger as food production
situation is set to further worsen with the looming El Nino, the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
said on Monday.
The IFRC is warning that increased support is needed now to alleviate
hunger, and to prepare for worsening conditions for farmers.
Michael Charles, IFRC acting regional representative in southern
Africa, said erratic rainfall, failed crops and violence in the Sahel
and eastern Africa have compromised the livelihoods of many farming
communities.
“The regularity with which we see food insecurity in Africa has left
many people apathetic. But the crisis currently facing millions of
families is not inevitable and should not be acceptable,” Charles said
in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
“There are many things that we can do to stop this food crisis in its
tracks and alleviate the impact on vulnerable people, but we need
international support to make this happen,” he added.
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According
to the relief agency, a series of climatic shocks in 2014 and 2015
decimated harvests, leaving many people dependent on food aid to
survive.
Floods and drought in southern Africa resulted in significant declines in the production of maize — the regional staple.
The El Nino phenomenon, characterized by a warming in the Pacific
Ocean, is set to strengthen over the coming months and persist into
2016. When El Nino occurs, rainfall patterns shift, increasing the risk
of extreme weather events.
Without increased support, the IFRC said the prospect for many
affected people is bleak, adding that malnutrition is already high in
sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 37 percent of children
in the region are stunted, which is indicative of long-term nutritional
problems.
Further decreases in the availability of nutritious food may be
life-threatening for children, people living with HIV, and other
vulnerable groups, the UNICEF says.
Charles said the economic strain of food insecurity on families also
leads people to adopt negative coping mechanisms to feed themselves.
“Parents pull their children from school and make them work. Women
trade for sex, putting themselves at risk of HIV. Farmers sell their
livestock, leaving them without the animals needed to work their land,”
he said.
“Addressing the food crisis now, and ensuring sustainable funding for
longer-term food security programs will prevent people from falling
into deeper cycles of vulnerability,” he added.
The IFRC predicts a higher likelihood of flood conditions developing
in equatorial Africa, and increased risk of drought in parts of southern
Africa and the Sahel region.
To meet the immediate needs of 205,000 of the most vulnerable, IFRC
has launched six emergency appeals across six countries in the
continent, including Gambia, Mauritania, Malawi, Namibia, Senegal, and
Zimbabwe
Title : 60 million Africans at risk of hunger – Red Cross
Description : About 60 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of acute hunger as food production situation is set to further worsen with...
