ROME: Two UN food agencies warned Wednesday that millions more people around the globe could face famine, with funding shortfalls worsening already dire conditions.
The joint report from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme said conflict and violence were driving acute food insecurity in the majority of the countries identified at risk.
The Rome-based agencies listed Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen as the worst, “where populations face an imminent risk of catastrophic hunger”.
Also classified as a “very high concern” were Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria, with Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya and the situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh also making the list.
“We are on the brink of a completely preventable hunger catastrophe that threatens widespread starvation in multiple countries,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, warning that a failure to act “will only drive further instability, migration, and conflict.”
Funding for humanitarian relief was falling “dangerously short”, the report said, pointing to only $10.5 billion received out of a required $29 billion to help those at risk.
WFP said that due to funding cuts, it had reduced assistance for refugees and displaced people while suspending school feeding programmes in some countries.
FAO warned that efforts to protect agricultural livelihoods were threatened “which are essential for stabilising food production and preventing recurring crises.”
Funding was needed for seeds and livestock health service, it said, “before planting seasons begin or new shocks occur.”
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