The World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation have listed northern Nigeria as one of the world’s newest ‘highest alert hunger hotspots.’

The global agencies say that in the next four months, conflict, COVID-19 and the climate crisis are likely to increase hunger in Nigeria and 22 other countries.

Ms Eri Kaneko, Associate spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said this while briefing correspondents at the UN headquarters on Friday in New York, on a new report released by the two UN agencies.

Kaneko said Ethiopia and Madagascar were the world’s newest “highest alert” hunger hotspots, according to the report.

“The highest alert list also includes South Sudan, Yemen, and northern Nigeria. In some areas of these countries, significant numbers of people are at risk of falling into famine.

“The report flags other countries where life-threatening hunger is on the rise. They include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Honduras, Sudan, and Syria,’’ she said.

According to her, WFP and FAO say humanitarian action is urgently needed to prevent hunger, famine and death in all the 23 hotspots.



In a statement, the UN agencies warned that efforts to fight a global surge in acute food insecurity were being stymied in several countries by fighting and blockades that cut off life-saving aid to families on the brink of famine.

“Bureaucratic obstacles as well as a lack of funding also hamper the two UN agencies’ efforts to provide emergency food assistance and enable farmers to plant at scale and at the right time.

“This is of grave concern as conflict, the economic repercussions of COVID-19 and the climate crisis are expected to drive higher levels of acute food insecurity in 23 hunger hotspots over the next four month.,’’ it stated.

FAO and WFP have already warned that 41 million people were at risk of falling into famine unless they received immediate food and livelihood assistance.

“2020 saw 155 million people facing acute food insecurity at Crisis or worse levels in 55 countries, and according to the Global Report on Food Crises, an increase of more than 20 million from 2019 – and the trend is only expected to worsen this year.

“The vast majority of those on the verge are farmers. Alongside food assistance, we must do all we can to help them resume food production themselves, so that families and communities can move back towards self-sufficiency and not just depend on aid to survive,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.

“That’s difficult without access, and without adequate funding – and so far, support to agriculture as key means of preventing widespread famine remains largely overlooked by donors, unfortunately.

“Without such support to agriculture, humanitarian needs will keep skyrocketing, that’s inevitable.

“Families that rely on humanitarian assistance to survive are hanging by a thread. When we cannot reach them that thread is cut, and the consequences are nothing short of catastrophic,” warned David Beasley, WFP Executive Director.

The report highlights that conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks – often related to the economic fallout of COVID-19 – will likely remain primary drivers of acute food insecurity for the August-November 2021 period.

It said transboundary threats was an aggravating factor in some regions, in particular, desert locust infestations in the Horn of Africa and African migratory locust in Southern Africa require continued monitoring and vigilance.

It said humanitarian access constraints was another severe aggravating factor that hamper efforts to curb food crises and prevent starvation, death and a total collapse of livelihoods, increasing the risk of famine.

“Countries currently facing most significant obstacles preventing aid from reaching those who need it most include Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

“The road to Zero Hunger isn’t paved with conflict, checkpoints and red tape.



“Humanitarian access isn’t some abstract concept – it means authorities approving paperwork in time so that food can be moved swiftly.

“It means checkpoints allow trucks to pass and reach their destination, it means humanitarian responders are not targeted, so they are able to carry out their life- and livelihood-saving work,” Beasley said.
Source: https://punchng.com/Northern-Nigeria-one-of-worlds-highest-alert-hunger-hotspots-Report

Hunger dey every where in Nigeria not only in north, and shey the so called northerners claimed that they feed the whole nation so is too illogical to say that they are suffering from hunger at same time

“Countries currently facing most significant obstacles preventing aid from reaching those who need it most include Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
Why are we ALWAYS in the same statement with countries that are far away from civilization.

It's well

Booked

the whole thing is not adding up...the north have so much food that they can determine who eat what.. they can stop the supply of food to the south west and ensure the south east eat without onions...

Now how can the acute shortage starts from the supplying point...

Just as education is the bedrock of every society.so,is hunger.as the bedrock of the north.

The biggest lie we have been told is that northern Nigeria provide foods for south

List all the food we eat in the south and tell me how many come from the north

U would end up with beans which is actually from Niger republic mostly
Goats and cows mostly from Chad n Niger

So really what north I mean north contribute is onions that's all

Lol...how can a food basket be the next hunger hotspot? Paradox.

The same people that claim to be feeding Southerners are now globally recognized as one of the most hungry and famished people on earth Me I'm not understanding o, can one give what they don't have??

Anyways, that's their cup of tea. We are still in Genesis and they're already eating grass, by the time we get to Revelations, won't they all become cannibals

positivelord:
the whole thing is not adding up...the north have so much food that they can determine who eat what.. they can stop the supply of food to the south west and ensure the south east eat without onions...

Now how can the acute shortage starts from the supplying point...

In the short term, your observation may be true but what about in the medium and long term?

If you check out all the listed countries, Islamic insurgency thrives in most of them, except for Ethiopia experiencing an ethnic war. When farmers are prevented from farming, the yields keep going down. That coupled with low buying power of the majority of people makes things difficult. If the situation is sustained for 10 to 25 years, acute shortage should be the result.

This particular thread go hot no be small

Another Scam from Fulani led Zoogeriaa

They love laziness
They love free money free food free everything including puna....

They hate truth
They hate the South like poo

Another lies from Yoruba+Igbo alliance against the north...



We(north) feed this country

positivelord:
the whole thing is not adding up...the north have so much food that they can determine who eat what.. they can stop the supply of food to the south west and ensure the south east eat without onions...

Now how can the acute shortage starts from the supplying point...

Let me explain the dynamics to you. Once there is food shortages and worsening poverty like we are experiencing in Nigeria now, it's the poor who would be most vulnerable and worst hit. This is because as food prices soar, it gets out of reach of the dirt poor. Northern Nigeria has poverty rates of about 90%. So, that 90% are the most vulnerable, and even if North produces more food relative to South, the food will still be bought from South that has relatively higher purchasing power.

To worsen matters for them, they have many children per household with low literacy rates and abysmally low productivity. It's a vicious circle and between now and this time next year, everything being equal, Nigeria will be at crises level and would be needing humanitarian aids to prevent starvation

Na south Nigeria go suffer am pass.
Anything that happens in the north somehow in someway at some point the south will pay for it. It's disgusting.

This was exactly the crux of Atiku's goodwill message to the clueless government to avert a looming catastrophe, but watch as the Buhari led government will throw the baby away with the bath water instead of doing the needful

FreeIgbos:
The same people that claim to be feeding Southerners are now globally recognized as one of the most hungry and famished people on earth Me I'm not understanding o, can one give what they don't have??

Anyways, that's their cup of tea. We are still in Genesis and they're already eating grass, by the time we get to Revelations, won't they all become cannibals

Yeeeee.....

Food prices are getting more expensive, a lot of people won't be able to afford enough foodstuffs as time goes on, why some won't be able to afford at all.

This report is suspect