Extreme weather to worsen Kenya’s food crisis as 5.4 million facing hunger, UN says
Acute food insecurity is likely to worsen in Kenya and 18 hunger hotspots covering 22 countries, a United Nations outlook report for June to November warns. The report's findings show that, in addition to Kenya, Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Syrian Arab Republic are other hotspots of very high concern, adding that the warning is also extended to Myanmar. The findings also show that more than 5.4 million Kenyans (32 percent) living in arid and semi-arid areas are in urgent and severe food need. "All these hotspots have high numbers of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life-threatening conditions in the coming months," warn the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme, adding that all these hotspots have high numbers of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life-threatening conditions in the coming months. The UN explains that the worsening of acute food insecurity in the hunger hotspots is occurring in the context of a global food crisis. "The countries and situations covered in this report highlight the most significant deteriorations in hunger expected over the outlook period, but do not represent all countries with high levels of acute food insecurity. The findings show that, in East Africa, average to above-average rainfall conditions are expected for the remainder of the current March-May season.” “However, given the magnitude of livelihood losses incurred during the last five consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall, drought recovery will take many years.” "The May 2023 forecast suggests an 82 per cent likelihood of El Nino conditions beginning in May-July 2023, with significant implications for several hunger hotspots. Continued monitoring of forecasts and their impact on production remains critical." The UN is calling on governments to urgently scale up assistance in all 18 hunger hotspots to protect livelihoods and increase access to food. The outbreak of conflict in Sudan marks a new spike in global levels of organised violence and armed conflict, which have declined slightly since the last edition of this report," the UN says. "Conflict will disrupt livelihoods, including agricultural activities and trade, as people are either directly attacked, flee the prospect of attack, or face movement restrictions and administrative obstacles. In addition, emerging conflicts, in particular the outbreak of conflict in Sudan, are likely to drive global conflict trends and affect several neighbouring countries.” “The use of explosive ordnance and siege tactics in several hunger hotspots continues to push people into catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, highlighting the critical role of humanitarian access in preventing the worst consequences of hunger," the UN says, while stressing that economic concerns continue to drive acute food insecurity in almost all hunger hotspots. According to their findings, the global economy is expected to slow in 2023, raising the cost of credit. This is despite a year of easing international food prices, with domestic prices remaining high and low foreign exchange reserves in many countries limiting imports. Experts predict that limited economic access is likely to be exacerbated by the overall reduction in donor support to alleviate global hunger. The report further says extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, tropical storms, cyclones, floods, droughts and increased climate variability remain significant factors in some countries and regions. “In the hotspots of greatest concern, humanitarian action is critical to prevent further hunger and death. However, humanitarian access is constrained in a number of ways, including insecurity due to organised violence or conflict, the presence of administrative or bureaucratic barriers, and restrictions on movement,” the UN says, noting that this is essential to prevent further deterioration of acute food insecurity and malnutrition.