LOC15:53
12:53 GMT
GENEVA, Jan 16 (KUNA) -- World Food Programme (WFP) warned Friday of an unprecedented deterioration in food security conditions across West and Central Africa as 55 million people, including 13 million children, could face acute food insecurity during the 2026 lean season from June to August.
Speaking online from Rome at a press briefing in Geneva, WFP Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Jean-Martin Bauer said the alarming figures were driven mainly by escalating violence and severe funding shortfalls affecting humanitarian operations in the region.
He said that according to the latest regional analysis based on the Cadre Harmonise classification the regional equivalent of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) millions of people are projected to fall into the most severe categories of food insecurity.
Bauer stressed that about three million people in Phase Four (emergency conditions) across West and Central Africa, noting that this number has doubled since 2020 when it stood at around 1.5 million.
He further warned that for the first time in a decade part of northeastern Nigeria have recorded populations in Phase Five the most extreme category.
He reported that in (Borno State) roughly 15,000 people are now facing catastrophic food security conditions, describing the situation as "one step away from famine" with mortality rates already exceeding normal levels.
"What we are seeing is not climate-driven," he said. "It is violence and massive cuts to humanitarian funding that are pushing millions into extreme vulnerability."
The WFP official revealed that funding shortages have already forced the agency to significantly scale back operations.
He reported that in Nigeria alone assistance to around 300,000 children was halted last year while plans for next month envisage support for only 72,000 people compared with a monthly average of about 1.3 million beneficiaries in 2025.
Bauer warned that the WFP may be compelled to suspend assistance to nearly 500,000 people in Cameroon starting next month due to a lack of resources.
He also warned about the growing "humanitarian vacuum" as several aid agencies withdraw from frontline areas amid funding constraints.
Bauer underlined that some 13 million children across the region are at risk in 2026 making nutrition programs a critical priority. "In IPC Phase Five areas people are dying. Put plainly people are starving," he said.
Bauer urged the international community to act swiftly calling for 453 million dollar over the next six months to implement the agencyآ’s core humanitarian plan in West and Central Africa. (end)
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