East Africa’s Food Insecurity To Persist Through Early 2024, WFP Reports
The World Food Program (WFP) has projected that high levels of food insecurity in East Africa are expected to continue until early 2024, despite a recent decrease since the 2022 lean season peak. The WFP’s food security update highlighted ongoing conflicts, fragile economic conditions, and the high cost of living as key factors impacting food availability and nutrition in the region. Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan were identified as the most concerning countries.
As of September, around 62.6 million people in the region were food insecure, with these four countries being among the worst affected by the global food crisis. The WFP also reported significant displacement within the region, with approximately 18.2 million people, including 5 million refugees and asylum seekers, and 13.2 million internally displaced persons. The ongoing conflicts have led to over 4 million people being displaced internally in Sudan alone, with over 1 million crossing international borders.
Despite the grim outlook, the WFP noted that expected above-normal rainfall from November to January 2024 across parts of East Africa could positively impact agriculture and livestock. However, concerns remain about potential severe flooding, crop and livestock damage, infrastructure destruction, displacement, and disease outbreaks.
