from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – AID agencies have called on donors and governments at the Global Food Security Summit to scale up assistance for 90 million people facing unprecedented levels of hunger across East and Central Africa.
Years of below-average rainfall, followed by intense, erratic rainfall and flooding have severely affected communities already grappling with the impacts of conflict and soaring global food prices.
Children under the age of five have been particularly affected by the current hunger crisis, with the region facing unprecedented rates of acute malnutrition.
Across Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, more than 11.5 million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition in 2023.
Peter Burgess, Director of the Interagency Working Group for East and Central Africa (IAWG), said, “Many of these crises are increasingly forgotten, and most humanitarian appeals in the region remain underfunded, leaving millions of people to face destitution, or worse.”
Out of 18 hunger hotspots identified by the Word Food Programming (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), six are countries where IAWG members provide assistance.
The Global Food Security Summit in London focuses on international attention on ending hunger and malnutrition.
– CAJ News