More than 52 million people in West and Central Africa may go hungry between June and August, according to a warning from the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

Current data indicates that at least 36 million people in West and Central Africa are struggling to meet their basic food needs.

The WFP emphasised that the region is headed towards a major disaster due to the fighting, displacement, economic hardship, and recurrent harsh weather contributing to this record hunger.

Among those affected, nearly three million people are facing emergency levels of hunger, while 2,600 people in Mali are at risk of catastrophic hunger.

Despite the historic scale of the need, available resources remain limited, putting millions of lives at risk.

“Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to scale down even further both in the number of people reached and the size of food rations distributed,” said Margot van der Velden, WFP’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

The World Food Programme (WFP) stated that persistent conflict is one of the key drivers of worsening hunger in West and Central Africa.

Fighting has displaced over 10 million of the most vulnerable people in the region, including more than two million refugees and asylum seekers in Chad, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Niger.

“Nearly eight million more have been internally displaced, primarily in Nigeria and Cameroon.

WFP stands ready to respond and scale up vital assistance in West Africa and the Sahel.

The UN agency is seeking $710 million to support its life-saving operations through the end of October. The aim is to reach almost 12 million people this year with critical assistance.

So far, teams have already reached three million of the most vulnerable individuals, including refugees, internally displaced people, malnourished children under five, and pregnant or breastfeeding women and girls.

However, the agency cautioned that five million people could lose their aid unless immediate financing is secured.

WFP has also urged governments and partners to invest in sustainable solutions to increase resilience and lessen the long-term need for aid.

Through a program that has restored more than 300,000 hectares of land and benefited over four million people in more than 3,400 villages, the UN agency has been collaborating with regional governments since 2018 to address the underlying causes of hunger.

Source: Nairametrics

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