Over 16 million people at risk of food crisis in West Africa
With the war against terrorism and cross-border banditry in some of the West African states (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, etc.), which has generated many displaced people, West Africa is going through one of the food and nutritional crises “The most serious in recent decades”.
Since October, 16.7 million people have been in an acute food crisis in West Africa and the Sahel. And the situation could get even worse unless action is taken quickly. Nearly 24 million people could go hungry between June and August 2021, one of the most challenging times for food, just before the harvest in the fields.
In Nigeria alone, shaken by terrorism in the north of the country, the number of people threatened by hunger could reach 13 million (against 9.2 million currently), or half of the total for the West African zone.
“The zones of armed attacks are increasing every day,” said Sy Martial Traoré, head of food security for the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel.
Burkina Faso, with 2.7 million people potentially affected by hunger next spring, against 2 million currently, is the second most affected country in West Africa. Despite the struggle waged by government forces and their international allies, the next six months will be difficult for millions of people.
In addition, other reasons have been evoked concerning this food crisis in the West African zone, which includes the locust invasions linked to global warming and especially the Covid-19 pandemic, which “resulted in disruption of agricultural activities, disruption of local market supply chains, and the loss of many jobs,” said Sékou Sangaré, Agriculture Commissioner of the Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
