Job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic combined with high food prices are making it hard for millions of families to get enough to eat, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday.
More than 31 million people across West and Central Africa may not have enough to eat in the coming months as hunger rises due to an “explosive mix” of skyrocketing food prices, conflict and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Famine is already on the doorstep of millions of families in 20 countries, two UN agencies warned on Tuesday in a report that calls for urgent action to avert rising hunger due to factors such as conflict, climate extremes and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conflict drives hunger, and when that turns to famine, that then drives conflict, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, adding that “if you don’t feed people, you feed conflict”.
With more than half of all maternal deaths occurring in countries affected by humanitarian crises and fragility, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling for greater international support to provide life-saving reproductive health and protection services in these locations.
