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The UN report warns of famine, exacerbated by conflict and climate shocks

The UN report warns of famine, exacerbated by conflict and climate shocks

ROME — Severe food crises are threatening hundreds of thousands of people in vulnerable areas, including the Palestinian territories, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali, a report released Thursday by the United Nations’ food agencies said.

Conflict, economic instability and climate shocks — combined with reduced funding for emergency food assistance and agriculture — are leading to alarming levels of acute food insecurity in 22 “hunger hot spots,” the report warns.

Rein Paulsen, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s director of emergencies, told a UN press conference in New York where he launched the report that “Spreading conflict, particularly in the Middle East – along with stressors climate and economic – pushing millions of people to the brink”.

The FAO and World Food Program said acute food insecurity is expected to worsen in 16 “hunger hotspots” over the next six months in 14 countries and two regions.

Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Mali and the Palestinian territories remain at the “highest level of concern,” the report said.

Chad, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen are classified as “hotspots of very high concern” where large numbers of people are experiencing or are estimated to be experiencing critical levels of acute food insecurity.

Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Somalia. Zambia and Zimbabwe remain on the “hot hunger” list from the agencies’ last assessment in May, while Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia and Niger have been added to the list, partly due to climate concerns.

“Conflict and armed violence continue to be the main drivers of hunger in many hotspots, disrupting food systems, displacing populations and obstructing humanitarian access,” the report warns.

WFP Chief Economist Arif Husain said other key drivers of the famine were climate extremes and economic deterioration, with most of the 22 countries identified as hotspots suffering from multiple challenges.

He told the UN briefing in Rome that hunger hotspots also have regional implications. For example, acute hunger in war-torn Gaza is affecting Lebanon and the Middle East, including decreased traffic through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, which is driving up food prices.

FAO and WFP experts believe that conflict in Sudan is likely to expand, “causing mass displacement, leading to hunger levels likely to persist and increasing numbers of people in catastrophic conditions”.

This will further exacerbate the regional humanitarian crisis, leading to increased cross-border movements to neighboring countries, primarily Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

The UN agencies also emphasized that ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territories caused “unprecedented needs, with almost total displacement of the population and an increased risk of regional contagion”.

The Israeli parliament recently passed two laws that could prevent the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), a key provider of aid to Gaza, from continuing its work.

According to Maxwell Sibhensana, Deputy Director at the FAO Office for Emergencies and Resilience, the restrictions placed on aid workers in Gaza “make it difficult to get the necessary assistance. And without this assistance, the risk of starvation remains very high.”

In Lebanon, the continued escalation of the conflict is significantly increasing the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance and is having a serious impact on levels of acute food insecurity, the report added.

Extreme weather and increased climate variability are exacerbating food insecurity in many regions, the report said.

La Niña – a natural climate pattern influencing global weather marked by cooler ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific – is expected to persist until March 2025, with a significant impact on rainfall and temperature patterns.

“While La Niña may improve agricultural prospects in some areas, it also increases the risk of flooding in parts of Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” the report said.

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Associated Press producer Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report from Rome and Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed from the United Nations.