Some 66.7 million people in the Greater Horn of Africa region are highly food insecure, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) released on Wednesday.
Out of the total, 39.1 million were from six of the eight IGAD member states, the FAO and IGAD said in the June report.
These are Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
Other countries where people are food insecure in the region are Burundi, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The number of food-insecure people in June, 66.7 million, fell almost 11 percent from the previous month’s 74.9 million, according to the two institutions.
“Conflict, inflation, disease outbreaks and poor access to nutritious diets and safe water continue to severely impact the state of food security and nutrition in Eastern Africa,” the report said.
Countries like Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan experienced heavy rainfall, as flooding exacerbated by lingering effects of previous droughts heightened severe levels of food insecurity, according to the two institutions.
The report said that the East and Central Africa region hosts a substantial number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), especially in countries such as Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, where people grapple with food insecurity due to restricted access to essential resources and limited livelihood opportunities.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, severe climate events such as flooding and drought, conflicts and disease outbreaks are continuing to cause displacements and push millions of people into acute food insecurity.
XINHUA