- An estimated 52.9 million people in Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda were severely food insecure (IPC2 Phase 3+) and in need of urgent assistance in November 2020.
- Over 13 million children3 across the IGAD region were at risk of acute malnutrition. Within this, 3.6 million were severely malnourished and in need of life saving interventions.
- The COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in increased cost of living across the region at a time when the incomes of a significant proportion of the population have been declining, pushing additional populations into extreme poverty.
- Local currencies continued to depreciate against the United States Dollar (USD), especially in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan, making the prices of both food and non-food items (NFIs) imports expensive in some of these countries.
- The ongoing conflict in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia continues to cause large scale population displacement, with thousands fleeing to Sudan in search of safety and basic services. The majority of these are women and children.
- The region is expected to continue witnessing drier than usual weather conditions, owing to a La Niña event4 . This, together with other shocks affecting the region could aggravate food insecurity and malnutrition in the region.
Tags:
FSNWG
,
Food Security
,
East Africa
