1 in 3 Afghans – 14 million people – are hungry today while 2 million children are malnourished. With drought, pandemic, and conflict, the food security situation will continue to worsen; and a great tide of hunger is soon arriving.
Job losses, lack of cash and soaring prices are creating a new class of hungry in Afghanistan, WFP has warned today. For the first time, urban residents are suffering from food insecurity at similar rates to rural communities, which have been ravaged by drought twice in the past three years.
The World Food Programme is launching Five Calls to Action to address today’s record-high humanitarian needs as leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US, and UK prepare to meet – ending conflict is high on the agenda.
1. Commit to political solutions to end conflicts now – including the immediate reopening of all Black Sea ports
2. Ensure trade is open to deliver grains, oil an
WFP has been responding to growing food needs in Chad, but funding shortfalls mean that food assistance for refugees and internally displaced people will come to a complete halt this month if no additional funds are received.
Funding shortfalls had already forced WFP to cut rations for refugees to 50 percent in the Far North, Adamawa, East and North regions of Cameroon and to distribute incomplete food baskets since end 2023, missing some items such as pulses, vegetable oil and salt.
The attacks began on the evening of 28 December and looting continued into the morning of 30 December.
More than 5,000 metric tons of food appear to have been taken, with hundreds of looters also dismantling warehouse structures.
“WFP is outraged by these senseless attacks and condemns the continued looting of assistance and the destruction of its assets in the strongest possible terms.
The war in Ukraine has had drastic consequences, both for people inside the country and for those around the world dependent on its huge grain supplies.