More than 66m people in Greater Horn of Africa face dire food insecurity

Conflict, inflation, severe weather and poor access to nutritious diets and safe water continue to severely affect the state of food security and nutrition in East Africa, leaving some 66.7 million people in the Greater Horn of Africa region facing severe food insecurity as of June, a report has found.

The figure was an 11 percent decrease compared with the 74.9 million in May, said the report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and East Africa's Intergovernmental Authority on Development on Wednesday.

The report further revealed that severe floods have heightened the levels of food insecurity in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, which were already recovering from the lingering effects of previous droughts.

In Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross estimates that floods in April destroyed approximately 16,000 hectares of cropland, intensifying concerns over agricultural output.

Furthermore, extensive waterlogging severely disrupted crop production. The damage caused by the floods is expected to disrupt the transportation network and agricultural production, consequently affecting the prices of goods and services.

In Tanzania, floods claimed lives and decimated thousands of farmlands, with the Department of Disaster Management in the Prime Minister's Office estimating a 30 percent drop in food production.

With the majority of the Tanzanian population dependent on agriculture and livestock, the relentless floods have exacerbated food insecurity in the country.

In its Food and Security Update published on April 25, the World Bank said domestic food price inflation remains high in low-and middle-income countries including those in East Africa. The situation was predicted to get worse following natural disasters such as the floods experienced in the region.

The update also indicated that domestic food price inflation, measured as year-on-year change in the food component of a country's consumer price index, will remain high.

"In East and Southern Africa, food insecurity, including famine, continues to rise because of ongoing conflicts and extreme weather events. An estimated 75 million people will be food insecure by October 2024," the update said.

The World Bank is worried that floods could significantly reduce the ability to increase maize production in a region that is already facing a shortage.

Refugee crisis

The Food and Agriculture Organization said the East and Central Africa region also hosts a substantial number of refugees and internally displaced persons, especially in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, where people grapple with food insecurity because of restricted access to essential resources and limited livelihood opportunities.

To help relieve the food insecurity in the region, East Africa's Intergovernmental Authority on Development said it is providing technical support to countries in the subregion in identifying food safety gaps at policy, strategy, legal, institutional and technical levels to better inform subsequent interventions and investments in such areas.

Xinhua contributed to this story.