The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WPF) recently published the “Hunger Hotspots” report, which highlights the devastating impact of conflict, climate change, and economic instability on food security across the world.
The causes of food insecurity in Africa are complex and multifaceted. Some of the key factors include Conflict and political instability, Climate change, Poverty and inequality and rapidly expanding population growth.
The chief economist of the World Food Program, Arif Husain, notes that the intensifying impacts of conflict and climate change are leading to a surge in hunger levels in some nations.
“So, you have conflict impacts, climate impacts in the same countries, as well as both the combination of the two turns into economic devastation for people,” Husain said.
The UN’s annual report on food security and nutrition warns that Africa is poised to overtake Asia as the continent with the highest prevalence of hunger by 2030.
Currently, Asia has the largest number of hungry people, with 384.5 million individuals facing hunger in 2023, compared to Africa’s 298.4 million. However, the report notes a worrying trend of rising undernourishment in Africa, where 20.4% of the population lacks access to nutritious food, and predicts that Africa will soon have the highest number of people experiencing hunger.
Africa’s hunger hotspots have been identified in 16 countries and categorized into three levels of concern: Hotspots of Highest concern (Category 3), Hotspots of Very high concern (Category 2), and Hotspots of Concern (Category 1).
According to the WFP and FAO.2024 Hunger Hotspots analysis, the 16 countries identified as hunger hotspots are presented below;
| Hotspot Category 1 | Hotspot Category 2 | Hotspot Category 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Burkina Faso |
Nigeria |
Mali |
|
Niger |
Chad |
Sudan |
|
Somalia |
Mozambique |
South Sudan |
|
Kenya |
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|
Namibia |
||
|
Malawi |
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|
Lesotho |
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|
Zimbabwe |
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|
Zambia |
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|
Ethiopia |
The data shows that three African countries were identified as Hotspots of highest concern and they include Mali, Sudan and South Sudan. Other countries in this category are Palestine and Haiti bringing the global count to five countries. These countries require the most urgent attention.
Three countries were also identified as countries of very high concern and 10 countries were also identified as just Hotspots.
Some of the countries at the highest hotspots concern are countries/territories with famine or risk of famine, or with populations already in catastrophe.
