Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: September 2 (EI) – Below-average rainfall, conflict
The new report, which noted that 27 million people had faced “acute food insecurity” during 2018 across the region, also stressed that “as in 2018, below-average rains, conflict and economic crisis continue to drive food insecurity.”
“Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan are expected to remain among the world’s most severe food crisis in terms of people affected,” according to IGAD’s newly published report, which was released in partnership with the Food Security Information Network (FSIN).
According to the report, in comparison to peak 2018 levels, updated projections for 2019 as of July indicate that food insecurity levels will likely be higher in South Sudan and Sudan, remain stable in Ethiopia and Uganda, and be lower in Kenya and Somalia.
The report also urged additional investments in resilience and on adaptation to climate change so as to provide households with a buffer against future shocks and stop the cycle of recurring food crisis.
Empowering woman, nourishing and educating children, improving rural infrastructure and reinforcing social safety nets and risk transfer are said to be some of the key activities to build resilience across the region.
Noting the vital significance of information and technology to capture changes in food security especially in fragile countries and contexts on a near real-time basis, the report further stressed that collecting and analyzing data on vulnerable populations are vital to ensure a targeted and integrated response for multiple partners working to address in humanitarian, development and peace nexus.
Investments in climate adaptation, conflict prevention and sustaining peace are also said to be vital to save lives, reduce structural vulnerabilities and address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition.
The first-ever report on food security mainly draws special attention to the plight of millions of people experiencing acute levels of food and nutrition insecurity in seven IGAD member countries that are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda.
IGAD is an eight-member regional bloc that also covers the Red Sea nation Eritrea. IGAD’s Food Security, Nutrition and Resilience Analysis Hub (IFRAH) and the Climate Predictions and Applications Centre (ICPAC) also cover three other African countries that are Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania.
The report, which also analyzed IGAD member countries’ food security track record in 2018, also revealed that some 27 million people had faced “acute food insecurity” across the IGAD region in 2018.
According to the report, the 27 million people that have encountered an acute food insecurity represent about 24 percent of the total food insecure people in the world, as more than 113 million people across 53 countries globally experienced acute hunger requiring urgent food, nutrition and livelihoods assistance in 2018.
The worst-affected IGAD member countries in 2018 in terms of acute food insecurity are said to be Ethiopia with about 8.1 million, Sudan with 6.2 million and South Sudan with 6.1 million people, according to the report.
