The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a warning that more than 52 million people in West and Central Africa may experience hunger between June and August. Current analysis reveals that at least 36 million individuals are already struggling to secure sufficient food.
The WFP attributes this unprecedented hunger crisis to factors such as conflict, displacement, economic challenges, and recurring extreme weather events, all pushing the region toward severe hardship. Among those affected, nearly three million are enduring emergency hunger levels, while 2,600 individuals in Mali are at risk of experiencing catastrophic hunger.
Despite the massive scale of the crisis, available resources are insufficient, endangering millions of lives. Margot van der Velden, WFP’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, warned that without immediate funding, the WFP will be forced to reduce both the number of people it can support and the size of the food rations provided.
Food Insecurity in the Sahel: A Growing Crisis
Food insecurity in the Sahel has risen dramatically, increasing from just four percent of the population in 2019 to 30 percent today, according to Ollo Sib, a senior research adviser with the World Food Programme (WFP). Speaking to journalists in Geneva from Dakar on Friday, Sib emphasized that the region’s food security situation remains extremely difficult and alarming.
“We hope that our voice will be heard,” he stated.
Sib recently visited some of the most affected areas, including northern Ghana, where communities are struggling with severe drought.
“They were forced to replant two to three times, and for them, each failed sowing is an added financial burden, given the extremely high cost of fertilizers and seeds in those areas,” he explained.
The assessment team also traveled to northern Mali, the only location in the region where people are facing catastrophic food security conditions.
“We met with pastoralist elders who typically sell their livestock to buy cereals. This year, they were worried because the cost of food had increased by 50 percent compared to the five-year average. At the same time, they cannot access markets to sell their goods,” Sib noted.
Conflict and Displacement Driving Hunger
The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that ongoing conflict is a major factor contributing to worsening hunger in West and Central Africa. Violence has displaced over 10 million of the region’s most vulnerable people, including more than two million refugees and asylum seekers in Chad, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Niger.
Nearly eight million more have been internally displaced, mainly in Nigeria and Cameroon.
In addition, rising food and fuel prices have led to increased food inflation, pushing hunger levels to unprecedented heights. Repeated extreme weather events are further undermining families’ ability to feed themselves, according to the WFP.
WFP’s Response and Funding Appeal
WFP is prepared to scale up essential assistance in West Africa and the Sahel.
The UN agency is seeking 710 million dollars to support its life-saving operations until the end of October, aiming to reach nearly 12 million people with critical support this year.
So far, teams have already assisted three million of the most vulnerable individuals, including refugees, internally displaced persons, malnourished children under five, and pregnant or breastfeeding women and girls.
However, the agency warned that five million people are at risk of losing assistance unless urgent funding is secured.
Investing in Long-Term Solutions
WFP also urged governments and partners to invest in sustainable solutions that build resilience and reduce long-term dependence on aid. Since 2018, the UN agency has been collaborating with regional governments to tackle the root causes of hunger through a program that has restored over 300,000 hectares of land, benefiting more than four million people in over 3,400 villages.