A spectre of food crisis is haunting East Africa, preceded by an unfortunate axis of locust invasion, Covid-19 pandemic and adverse weather.
In its Global Report on Food Crises, WFP is particularly worried about Covid-19 spreading to vulnerable communities such as those with high levels of acute malnutrition, refugee settlements and IDP camps, arid and semi-arid lands and informal settlements.
The UN agency warned that “there’s no time to waste” as more than 27 million people were in “emergency” levels of acute food insecurity prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the restrictions that have come with containing the spread of Covid-19, WFP warns hundreds of millions of people could be “just one shock away from severe acute food insecurity” as at least 135 million people experienced “crisis” and worse levels of acute food insecurity while a further 183 million people were on the edge in “stressed” food security conditions.
According to the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group March 2020 update, 16.95 million people in the four most food insecure countries in East Africa are in need of humanitarian assistance due to drought, floods, economic crises, conflict and displacements.
