Conflict, climate woes leave 66 million food insecure in Horn of Africa

NAIROBI | Xinhua |  The number of food-insecure people in the Horn of Africa stands at 66 million, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said in a new report released Tuesday.

This is a decline from 67 million people in July, the institutions said, with the fall attributed to improved rains during the March-May season in some countries.

Of the 66 million people, 39 million are in IGAD member states, namely Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.

FAO and IGAD noted that conflict remains the dominant driver of East Africa’s food crisis, with the 39 million people across the IGAD region facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

They observed conflict has resulted in the critical destruction of infrastructure and main sources of food and income, aggravating the already dire food security conditions.

The agencies said IGAD is home to over 29 million displaced individuals, mostly in Sudan, as a result of both conflict and climate-related risks.

An influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) negatively affects the food security situation of the host community by putting additional pressure on their resources, the organizations said.

The food security situation may worsen as the Horn of Africa is expected to experience below-average rainfall during the October-December season that would lead to drought, according to the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center. ■