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Emergency food assistance needs in at least 41 Countries
by WFP, FAO, Famine Early Warning Systems Network
8:06am 11th Sep, 2019
 
Nov. 2019
  
Projected Food Assistance needs from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)
  
This brief summarizes FEWS NET's most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries. The projected size of each country's acutely food insecure population (IPC Phase 3 and higher) is compared to last year. Countries where external emergency food assistance needs are anticipated are identified.
  
Additional information is provided for countries with large food insecure populations. Analytical confidence is lower in remote monitoring countries. http://bit.ly/2XtvbqP
  
Oct. 2019 (World Food Programme)
  
A record 45 million people in the 16-nation South African Development Community (SADC) face severe food insecurity in the next six months. Persistent drought, back-to-back cyclones and flooding have wreaked havoc on harvests in a region overly dependent on rain-fed, smallholder agriculture.
  
With temperatures rising at twice the global average and designated a climate hotspot by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Southern Africa has experienced normal rainfall in just one of the last five growing seasons.
  
In late 2018 and early 2019 many western and central areas experienced the driest growing season in a generation, precipitating widespread crop failure in Zimbabwe, northern Namibia and southern parts of Angola, Botswana and Zambia.
  
Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, in March and April this year, were the strongest on record to strike Africa, and obliged Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Comoros to declare national emergencies.
  
The hunger crisis, afflicting urban as well as rural communities, is being aggravated by rising food prices, large-scale livestock losses and mounting joblessness. It is also deepening acute malnutrition in particularly vulnerable communities.
  
There are 9.2 million people now experiencing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phases 3 and 4) in eight Southern African countries identified by WFP for urgent lean season assistance. The number is projected to rise to 13 million early next year unless timely assistance is provided.
  
WFP is working to step up both emergency assistance to those most in need and interventions to help vulnerable communities withstand increasingly frequent and intense climate shocks. The priority countries are: Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho.
  
Multi-year funding is crucial to enabling vulnerable communities to withstand climate shocks. US$ 260 million is needed to meet urgent food needs.
  
http://www.wfp.org/news/climate-shocks-intensify-un-food-agencies-urge-more-support-southern-africas-hungry-people http://www.savethechildren.net/news/hunger-levels-soar-horn-africa-region-faces-driest-summer-over-35-years http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/more-52-million-people-across-africa-going-hungry-weather-extremes-hit-continent http://reliefweb.int/report/angola/number-people-affected-hunger-southern-africa-will-stretch-around-world http://reliefweb.int/report/zimbabwe/joint-call-action-address-impacts-climate-change-and-deepening-humanitarian-crisis
  
Oct. 2019
  
Zambia Humanitarian Response Plan, October 2019 - March 2020 (OHCA)
  
More than 2.4 million people are expected to be severely food insecure during the lean season (October - March), with at least 430,000 of them in Emergency levels (IPC 4), according to the last Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZVAC)/IPC report.
  
The devastating combination of prolonged and severe drought in the southern part of the country over the last two rainy seasons and floods in the north has driven increasing hunger. According to the Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD), 2018-2019 rainfall season was one of the poorest the southern half of Zambia has faced since 1981, negatively impacting crop production and consequently food availability and food access. A total of 58 districts registered a huge decline in maize production, the main staple food. Food insecurity is expected to worsen in 58 drought-affected districts in the southern and western parts of the country.
  
The 2019 Vulnerability Assessment has revealed an increase in severe acute malnutrition levels. Acute malnutrition (wasting) has a prevalence of nearly 6 per cent across the nine provinces of Zambia. Out of the 87 districts assessed, 24 indicated prevalence of wasting above the national prevalence of 4 per cent.
  
http://bit.ly/32Xfg63 http://www.ipcinfo.org/ http://www.unocha.org/
  
Oct. 2019
  
Afghanistan: Over 10 million people severely food insecure due to conflict, high food prices and high unemployment
  
Between August and October 2019, it is estimated that a total of 10.23 million people (33% of the total population) were in severe acute food insecurity and require urgent humanitarian action. These include around 7.79 million people in a Crisis situation (IPC Phase 3) and 2.44 million people in an Emergency situation (IPC Phase 4). Around 10.37 million people were also in a Stressed situation (IPC Phase 2) and require livelihood support.
  
Between November 2019 and March 2020, around 11.29 million people (37% of the total population) are estimated to likely experience severe acute food insecurity, out of which an estimated 8.6 million people will likely be in a Crisis situation (IPC Phase 3) and nearly 2.7 million people will likely be in an Emergency situation (IPC Phase 4). Furthermore, around 9.45 million people will be in a Stressed situation (IPC Phase 2).
  
Response priorities:
  
Urgent action is required to save lives, protect livelihoods, and reduce food consumption gaps of populations classified in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).
  
Humanitarian Food Assistance in kind or cash should be provided to the households facing severe acute food insecurity. Food for Asset activities should be further promoted.
  
The majority of the farmers do not have enough seeds of their own wheat for next season and most of the farmers are not able to obtain seeds from any sources in sufficient quantity or will not find them at all. It is highly recommended to assist the farmers in terms of agriculture-based livelihood response.
  
The complex context of Afghanistan including ethnically diverse people, rugged terrain and unrelenting civil unrest needs to be taken into account when developing strategies for food and livelihood security programming. Improving and strengthening water irrigation systems through livelihoods programmes is an important consideration..
  
http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/ipc-alerts/issue-15/en/
  
Oct. 2019
  
Haiti: Acute Food Insecurity Situation: 3.67 million people in need of urgent food assistance. (IPC)
  
According to the IPC analysis conducted in October 2019 at the national level, for the current period from October 2019 to February 2020, 10% of the population analysed (1,046,000 people) is in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 25% (2,627,000 people) is in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis), representing approximately 35% of the population analysed or 3.67 million in need of urgent action.
  
For the projected period, from March to June 2020, 12% (1,203,000 people) of the analyzed population is in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 28% (2,898,000 people) is in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis), representing approximately 40% of the analyzed population or 4.1 million who will need urgent action. Whether in the current or projected period, the situation appears to be more deteriorated in rural areas with 38% and 42% of the population respectively in Phase 3 and above compared to 28% and 31% respectively in urban areas.
  
Among the areas analysed, two are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4): the lower northwest in rural areas and the very poor districts in urban areas. With the exception of certain middle and better-off districts in the metropolitan area which are classified as Stress (IPC Phase 2), the rest of the areas analysed (32 out of 39) are classified as Crisis (IPC Phase 3). The area with the highest percentage of people in Crisis and Emergency situations (IPC Phase 3 and 4) is the poorest neighbourhoods of Cite Soleil with a proportion of 55% of households.
  
Rising staple food prices (annual inflation of about 22.6%), the depreciation of the gourd against the dollar by about 24% year-on-year (October 2018-2019), socio-political unrest and deteriorating security conditions have greatly reduced access to food for the poorest households. In rural areas, the 2018 drought, which lasted until the first half of 2019, caused agricultural production in many parts of the country to decline by about 12% compared to last year.
  
http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1152203/
  
* The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a multi-partner initiative for food security and nutrition analysis. By using the IPC classification, Governments, UN Agencies, NGOs, civil society and other relevant actors, work together to determine the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity, and acute malnutrition situations in a country, according to internationally-recognised scientific standards to inform emergency responses as well as medium and long-term policy and programming.
  
Aug. 2019
  
East Africa Food Security Outlook, June 2019 to January 2020. (FEWS-Net)
  
An estimated 43 million people affected by drought, conflict, and macroeconomic shocks are expected to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes across Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Yemen, South Sudan, Sudan, Kenya, and Burundi.
  
These populations in need require urgent humanitarian food assistance to mitigate deterioration in food security outcomes in the outlook period. This figure includes an estimated 11.4 million internally displaced people and 4.3 million refugees throughout the region, many of whom are also expected to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes.
  
An estimated 6.96 million people in South Sudan and 17 million people in Yemen are facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes in the presence of planned humanitarian food assistance. This includes some households in Jonglei and Upper Nile of South Sudan that are likely in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).
  
Although food assistance is mitigating more extreme outcomes, the reach of assistance remains below the estimated need and access to populations in need remains a significant concern.
  
In South Sudan, the risk of Famine (IPC Phase 5) will persist through January 2020 despite an anticipated increase in 2019/20 crop production compared to 2018/19, given existing high levels of acute food insecurity and the potential for conflict to quickly shift and restrict household movement and humanitarian access.
  
In Yemen, Famine (IPC Phase 5) would be likely in a worst-case scenario where commercial imports significantly decline far below requirement levels or conflict cuts off populations from trade for a prolonged period.
  
In the Horn of Africa, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes are anticipated through January 2020 due to drought and two consecutive poor production seasons in 2018/19, though some improvements will likely be realized during the October-December 2019 rainy season.
  
In Somalia, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes are expected in central and northern pastoral areas and several northern and southern agropastoral areas.
  
In Ethiopia, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) is expected in the lowlands of Oromia, northeastern Afar, northeastern Amhara, and the Somali region. A likely safety net pipeline break in the worst-affected areas of Ethiopia would also result in an increase in the number of households in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), elevating the already high prevalence of acute malnutrition.
  
In Kenya, outcomes are expected to improve from Crisis (IPC Phase 3) to Stressed (IPC Phase 2) in late 2019, but some poor households may remain in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
  
Among populations displaced by conflict and civil unrest in Ethiopia and Sudan, food gaps indicative of Crisis (IPC Phase 3) are likely to persist throughout the outlook period and some households may deteriorate to Emergency (ICP Phase 4) in the ongoing lean season. About one million people remain displaced in Benishangul Gumuz, Oromia, SNNPR, and Somali regions of Ethiopia.
  
In Sudan, 2.0-2.6 million people are displaced, including protracted internally displaced persons (IDPs) in SPLM-N-controlled areas of South Kordofan and SPLA-AW-controlled areas of Jebel Marra in Darfur States of Sudan. Conflict-displaced households have lost access to typical livelihoods while population movements, trade flows, and access to humanitarian assistance are restricted.
  
Aug. 2019
  
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - Global Information and Early Warning System: 41 Countries requiring external assistance for Food (July 2019)
  
Countries in crisis requiring external assistance for food are expected to lack the resources to deal with reported critical problems of food insecurity. The list below covers crises related to lack of food availability, widespread lack of access to food, or severe but localized problems. GIEWS updates this list four times a year.
  
http://www.fao.org/giews/country-analysis/external-assistance/en/
  
Aug. 2019
  
Ongoing conflicts remain a primary driver of high levels of severe food insecurity, report from World Food Programme/FAO August 2019: http://undocs.org/en/S/2019/699
  
* Acute food insecurity is when a person's inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger. It draws on internationally accepted measures of extreme hunger, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
  
Chronic hunger is when a person is unable to consume enough food to maintain a normal, active lifestyle over an extended period. The FAO's most recent State of Food Security and Nutrition report, in September 2018, found that 821 million people on the planet are going hungry.
  
http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/ http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1187744/icode/ http://www.fsinplatform.org/global-report-food-crises-2019 http://www.ipcinfo.org/
  
July 2019
  
Alarming lack of funding for humanitarian relief work. (Norwegian Refugee Council)
  
Half way into the year, humanitarian organisations have received only 27 per cent of the money needed to provide relief to people affected by crises worldwide.
  
"The current lack of funding is alarming. Despite increasing needs, substantially less money is available for humanitarian assistance compared to the same period last year. We are deeply concerned for those people already feeling the hard consequences of cuts, said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
  
Every year the UN and humanitarian organisations work together to launch humanitarian appeals based on needs assessments in countries affected by crises.
  
This year, a total of $26 billion is required to provide relief for around 94 million people in need. So far, donor countries have contributed approximately $7 billion - 27 per cent of the money needed, according to the UN's financial tracking service. This is about $2 billion less than the funding received half way into 2018.
  
"Let's not be fooled into believing that the amount needed is too high or the job too difficult. It is a question of priorities. The world's total military expenditure has increased to a whopping $1.8 trillion. The cost of closing the humanitarian funding gap and providing people with basic support equals to just about one per cent of this," said Egeland.
  
For example, the crisis in Cameroon is among the most critically under-funded, with less than 20 per cent of the appeal covered so far this year. Assistance is also falling short for people in DR Congo, a country struck by a toxic cocktail of conflict, mass displacement and Ebola. Even funding for Syrian refugees is drying up.
  
The current funding crisis is due to a combination of more protracted and longer -lasting humanitarian crises globally and the emergence of more self-interested policies in several rich countries.
  
"Today many people hit by conflict, drought and starvation do not receive any assistance at all. Mothers are skipping meals to provide their malnourished children with whatever little food is available. Lack of proper latrines lead to the spread of water-borne diseases like cholera. And treatable illnesses are claiming lives due to the lack of medical support. All of this is fully preventable if there was political will," said Egeland.
  
The Norwegian Refugee Council is appealing to donor countries to increase their humanitarian support and for new donor countries to step forward and disburse funding urgently.
  
"There is an urgent need for more funding to meet the growing humanitarian needs worldwide," Egeland said. "The disbursement of funding early in the year will also enable a better planned and more efficient humanitarian response," he added.
  
Facts and figures:
  
As of July 9, 2019, the total funding registered amounted to $7 billion out of the total appeal for US$26 billion. This means that the appeal was 27 per cent funded.
  
Half-way into the year in 2018, US$9 billion was received out of a total appeal for US$25 billion, 35 per cent of the money needed. By the end of the year the total funding had increased to US$15 billion, 60 per cent of the money needed.
  
Total world military expenditure rose to US$1822 billion in 2018, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
  
http://www.nrc.no/news/2019/july/alarming-lack-of-funding-for-relief-work/

 
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