As acute food insecurity levels appear to be reaching new highs globally, also as a result of the socio-economic fallout of measures imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, this joint FAO-WFP report aims to raise an early warning on 20 countries and situations – called hotspots – that, starting from already significant levels of acute food insecurity in early 2020, are facing the risk of a further rapid deterioration over the next months. Through a forward-looking analysis on potential evolutions of food insecurity drivers, this report aims to inform urgent action to safeguard the most vulnerable communities in the countries covered.
Already in 2019, 135 million people were facing a food crisis or emergency (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) in 55 countries and territories, while an additional 183 million were classified in Stress conditions across 47 countries, with a risk of further deterioration. This was largely a result of conflict and insecurity, weather extremes, economic shocks or a combination of them.
According to the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises – September 2020 update, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these pre-existing and on-going drivers, mainly by causing economic activities to decline, which in turn led to income loss and reduced household purchasing power, and a multitude of food-system wide shocks. While the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 are differentiated and not equally severe in all contexts, the latest evidence shows that between March and September 2020, high acute food insecurity has deepened in most of the 27 countries analysed in the update of the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises.
In the next three to six months, 20 countries and situations shown on the map are likely to face potential spikes in high acute food insecurity, driven by multiple overlapping drivers, and require urgent attention. Yemen, South Sudan, northeastern Nigeria and Burkina Faso have areas of extreme concern whose populations, partially or completely cut off from humanitarian assistance, have reached a critical hunger situation following years of conflict and other shocks. In these areas, any further deterioration over the coming months could lead to a risk of famine.