WFP / HUNGER HOTSPOTS REPORT

STORY: WFP / HUNGER HOTSPOTS REPORT
TRT: 02:18
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: PLEASE SEE SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS

SHOTLIST:


14 FEBRUARY 2023, ARBINDA, BURKINA FASO

1. Various shots, helicopter carrying WFP food

13 APRIL 2023, MENAKA, MALI

2. Various shots, children being tested for malnutrition

18 APRIL 2023, DAKAR, SENEGAL

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Margot van der Velden, Deputy Regional Director for West Africa, World Food Programme (WFP):
“Within West and Central Africa, we have a particular concern for the conflict-affected areas in Burkina and in Mali, where we have 45,000 people that are facing catastrophic levels of hunger. The worrisome part is also that now we see the conflict in the Sahel spreading to the southern countries in the Gulf of Guinea area. For example, we already have 27,000 people who have left Burkina Faso and arrived in the northern part of Togo.”

13 APRIL 2023, SAVANES, TOGO

4. Various shots, beneficiaries at a WFP food distribution
5. Various shots, Kondja Marie returning from WFP food distribution

12 APRIL 2023, SAVANES, TOGO

6. SOUNDBITE (Gourmantché), Kondja Marie, refugee from Burkina Faso:
“We heard rumors that armed men were slitting people's throats. The roads were blocked, and it was impossible to leave. But then we were attacked and fled here.”
7. Various shots, Kondja Marie sweeping the kitchen, sitting in shared room

STORYLINE:
A new UN early warning report has found that acute food insecurity is set to potentially increase in magnitude and severity in 18 hunger “hotspots” comprising 22 countries.

The report - ‘Hunger Hotspots – FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity’ - issued today (29 May) by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), calls for urgent humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods and prevent starvation and death in hotspots where acute hunger is at a high risk of worsening from June to November 2023.

Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali, and Sudan have been elevated to the highest alert level, together with Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.

These countries demand the most immediate attention as they all have populations facing or projected to face starvation or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions.

The Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, and the Syrian Arab Republic are hotspots with very high concern levels of acute food insecurity, and the warning is extended to Myanmar.

The report spotlights the risk of a spill-over of the Sudan crisis - raising the risk of negative impacts in neighboring countries, and shows that deepening economic shocks continue to drive low- and middle-income nations deeper into crisis.

Additionally, the report warns of a significant risk of weather extremes related to the El Niño climatic phenomenon – particularly in Central America.

The report provides concrete country-specific recommendations on priorities for an immediate emergency response to save lives, prevent famine and protect livelihoods, and anticipatory action.

Humanitarian action is critical to preventing starvation and death.

FAO and WFP also strengthen the scale and reach of anticipatory action, ensuring predictable hazards do not become full-blown humanitarian disasters.

The report is part of a series of analytical products produced under the Global Network Against Food Crises to enhance and coordinate the generation and sharing of evidence-based information and analysis for preventing and addressing food crises.