At least 66 million people across the Horn of Africa are severely food insecure with Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya highly affected countries of the region, a new report has said.
The report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said 39.1 million were from six of the eight IGAD member states.
“The countries are Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. Other countries where people are food insecure in the region are Burundi, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the FAO and IGAD said in their June report.
The number of food-insecure people in the region fell by 11 percent from 74.9 million the previous month to 66.7 million in June 2024.
“Conflict, inflation, disease outbreaks and poor access to nutritious diets and safe water continue to severely impact the state of food security and nutrition in Eastern Africa,” the report said.
Countries like Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan experienced heavy rainfall, as flooding exacerbated by lingering effects of previous droughts heightened severe levels of food insecurity, according to the two institutions.
The report said that the East and Central Africa region hosts a substantial number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), especially in countries such as Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, where people grapple with food insecurity due to restricted access to essential resources and limited livelihood opportunities.
MG/as/APA