‘Catastrophic’ food shortages set to sweep world’s hunger hotspots driving up starvation and deaths, UN warns

More than 41 million people worldwide are at risk of falling into famine or famine-like conditions unless they receive immediate help

In Ethiopia, the number facing starvation and death is expected to rise to 401,000, the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme said

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Internally displaced Yemenis whose camp was ravaged by fire receive food aid in a village near the port city of Hodeida earlier this month. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:31am, 31 Jul 2021Updated: 8:14pm, 31 Jul 2021

Hunger is expected to rise in 23 global hotspots in the next three months with the highest alerts for “catastrophic” situations in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, southern Madagascar, Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria, two UN agencies warned.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme said in a new report on “Hunger Hotspots” between August and November that “acute food insecurity is likely to further deteriorate”.

They put Ethiopia at the top of the list, saying the number of people facing starvation and death is expected to rise to 401,000 – the highest number since the 2011 famine in Somalia – if humanitarian aid is not provided quickly.

People wait to register for food distribution in Ethiopia’s Tigray region earlier this month. Photo: AFP

In southern Madagascar, which has been hit by the worst drought in the past 40 years, pests affecting staple crops, and rising food prices – 14,000 people are expected to be pushed into “catastrophic” acute food insecurity marked by starvation and death by September. And that number is expected to double by the end of the year with 28,000 people needing urgent help, the two agencies said.

In a report in May, 16 organisations including FAO and WFP said at least 155 million people faced acute hunger in 2020, including 133,000 who needed urgent food to prevent widespread death from starvation, a 20 million increase from 2019.