WFP, FAO Warn El Niño Could Worsen Food Insecurity Across West and Central Africa
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have warned that El Niño is likely to deepen food insecurity across West and Central Africa, placing millions more people at risk of hunger.
The agencies project that acute food insecurity in the region could increase by 12 percent, affecting nearly six million additional people if timely interventions are not implemented.
In response, WFP and FAO have called on governments, donors and humanitarian partners to scale up funding and preparedness efforts to help vulnerable communities withstand the impacts of the climate phenomenon before conditions deteriorate into a full-scale humanitarian crisis.
The warning is based on an initial modelling exercise covering 45 countries identified as highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of El Niño and where reliable food security data are available.
According to the analysis, the projections combine historical evidence from previous El Niño events, current food security conditions, risk assessments and expert analysis to estimate the number of people who could be pushed into acute food insecurity—classified as IPC Phase 3 or higher—by El Niño-related shocks.
The assessment focuses on countries where El Niño is expected to worsen food insecurity and excludes regions where its effects are likely to be limited or potentially beneficial.
