DAKAR, April 12 – United Nations humanitarian agencies have issued a warning about a deepening food crisis in West and Central Africa, with nearly 55 million people expected to struggle to feed themselves in the coming months due to soaring prices.
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According to the agencies, the number of people facing hunger during the June-August lean season has quadrupled over the last five years. Economic challenges like double-digit inflation and stagnant local production have emerged as significant factors driving the crisis, alongside recurrent conflicts in the region.
The World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlighted Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Mali as among the worst-affected countries. In northern Mali alone, around 2,600 people are at risk of experiencing catastrophic hunger.
“The time to act is now. We need all partners to step up … to prevent the situation from getting out of control,” emphasized Margot Vandervelden, WFP’s acting regional director for West Africa.
The agencies also underscored alarmingly high malnutrition rates, estimating that 16.7 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished across West and Central Africa.
The heavy dependence on food imports in the region, particularly for countries battling high inflation like Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, has further exacerbated the crisis.
Robert Guei, the FAO’s Sub-regional Coordinator for West Africa, called for policies to boost and diversify local food production in response to the unprecedented food and nutrition insecurity.
