W’Africa faces its worst food crisis in 10 years

On Apr 6, 2022

Eleven international organisations, yesterday, warned: “West Africa is hit by its worst food crisis in a decade, with 27 million people going hungry.”

They added: “This number could rise to 38 million this June – a new historic level and already an increase by more than a third over last year- unless urgent action is taken.”

The organisations are: Oxfam, Action Against Hunger, Save the Children, CARE International, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), Tearfund, World Vision (WV), Handicap International – Humanité & Inclusion and Mercy Corps.

A new historic level, according to the report, had already been reached, with an increase by more than a third over last year.

Over the past decade, the food crisis had been far from abating, but had been increasing across the West African region in Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali, and Nigeria. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of people in need of emergency food assistance nearly quadrupled, from 7 to 27 million.

Oxfam’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Assalama Sidi, said many already faced difficult food shortages.

Sidi stated, “Cereal production in some parts of the Sahel has dropped by about a third compared to last year. Family food supplies are running out. Drought, floods, conflict, and the economic impacts of COVID-19 have forced millions of people from their land, pushing them to the brink.”

The Director, Save the Children, West and Central Africa, While Adapoe, stated, “The situation is forcing hundreds of thousands of people to move to different communities and to live with host families who are already living in difficult conditions. There is not enough food, let alone nutritious food enough for children. We must help them urgently because their health, future and lives are at risk.”

Malnutrition is steadily increasing in the Sahel. The United Nations estimated that 6.3 million children aged 6-59 months would be acutely malnourished this year including more than 1.4 million children in the severe acute malnutrition phase compared to 4.9 million acutely malnourished children in 2021.

MTO/Pumch