UN report warns of famine, aggravated by conflicts and climate shocks

ROME -- Severe food crises threaten hundreds of thousands of people in vulnerable areas, including the Palestinian territories, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali, said a report released Thursday by the United Nations' food agencies.

Conflicts, economic instability, and climate shocks -- combined with reduced funding for emergency food and agriculture assistance -- are driving alarming levels of acute food insecurity in 22 “hunger hotspots,” the report warned.

Rein Paulsen, the Food and Agriculture Organization's emergencies director, told a U.N. news conference in New York launching the report that “The spread of conflict, particularly in the Middle East – coupled with climate and economic stressors – is pushing millions to the brink.”

The FAO and the World Food Program said acute food insecurity is projected to worsen across 16 “hunger hotspots” during the next six months, in 14 countries and two regions.

Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Mali and the Palestinian territories remain at the “highest concern level,” the report said.

Chad, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen are classified as “hotspots of very high concern,” where large numbers of people are facing or are projected to face critical levels of acute food insecurity.

Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Somalia. Zambia and Zimbabwe remain on the “hunger hotspot” list from the agencies' last assessment in May, while Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia and Niger have been added to the list, partly because of climate issues.

“Conflict and armed violence continue to be the primary drivers of hunger in numerous hotspots, disrupting food systems, displacing populations, and obstructing humanitarian access,” the report warned.

WFP’s chief economist Arif Husain said other key drivers of hunger were climate extremes and economic deterioration, with most of identified 22 hotspot countries suffering from multiple challenges.

He told the U.N. briefing from Rome that the hunger hotspots also have regional implications. For example, the acute hunger in war-torn Gaza impacts Lebanon and the Mideast, including lowering traffic through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, which is raising food prices.

FAO and WFP experts believe that the conflict in Sudan is likely to expand, “driving mass displacement, resulting in famine levels likely to persist and the number of people in catastrophic conditions to increase.”

That will further aggravate the regional humanitarian crisis, resulting in increased cross-border movements to neighboring countries, primarily Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

The UN agencies also stressed that the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territories has driven “unprecedented needs, with near-total displacement of the population and an increased risk of regional spillover.”

The Israeli parliament has recently passed two laws that could prevent the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), a key provider of aid to Gaza, from being able to continue its work.

According to Maxwell Sibhensana, deputy director at FAO office for emergencies and resilience, restrictions on humanitarian aid workers in Gaza "makes it difficult to get the assistance that is required. And without this assistance the risk of famine remains very high.”

In Lebanon, the ongoing escalation of conflict is significantly increasing the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance and is severely impacting levels of acute food insecurity, the report added.

Weather extremes and increased climate variability are worsening the food insecurity in many regions, the report said.

La Niña -- a natural climate pattern that influences global weather marked by cooler ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific – is expected to persist through March 2025, with a significant impact on rainfall patterns and temperatures.

“While La Niña may enhance agricultural prospects in some areas, it also increases the risk of flooding in parts of Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” the report said.

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Associated Press producer Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report from Rome and Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed from the United Nations.