WFP Forecasts Global Hunger Hotspots
Stories by Ugo Aliogo
Escalating hunger needs in Africa dominates a World Food Programme (WFP) analysis of global hunger hotspots in the first half of 2020.
The report stated that millions of people require life-saving food assistance in Zimbabwe, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central Sahel region, in the coming months.
According to a statement on its website, the sheer scale and complexity of the challenges in Africa and other regions would stretch the resources and capacity of WFP and other agencies to the limit.
The statement said ramping up humanitarian response would again require the generous support of donor governments to fund the assistance required to save lives and support development.
The Executive Director of
WFP, David Beasley, said his organisation was fighting big and complex humanitarian battles on several fronts at the start of 2020.
He also stated that in some countries, the organisation was seeing conflict and instability combine with climate extremes to force people from their homes, farms and places of work, “in others, climate shocks are occurring alongside economic collapse and leaving millions on the brink of destitution and hunger.”
Beasley said: “Every year at the WFP, we plan ahead for the next 12 months and ask for support from the generous governments, private sector institutions and members of the public who help us reach our humanitarian and development goals. “As an agency that depends entirely on voluntary donations, we have a responsibility to show WFP can continue to be the most efficient and effective global organization delivering the kind of food assistance that saves lives and changes lives across the world.”
The WFP 2020 global hotspots report highlighted critical challenges in subSaharan Africa over the next six months with Zimbabwe, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central Sahel region standing out when it comes to the needs of hungry children, women and men.
According to the report, “The WFP report notes that amidst an imploding economy, the situation in Zimbabwe is increasingly precarious as the country enters the peak of its lean season when food is at its most scarce and the number of hungry people has reached its highest point in a decade. WFP is planning assistance for more than 4 million people in Zimbabwe as concerns grow that the impact of a regional drought could drag yet more countries down in the first months of the year.”