The UN expressed concern on Tuesday, January 10, about the massive deterioration of food security in the Sahel exacerbated in particular by the war in Ukraine with, in six months, more than 5 million additional people in a situation of food insecurity. ” severe “ In the region.
“The food crisis in the Sahel has been aggravated by wheat and fertilizer shortages caused by the conflict in Ukraine, regional insecurity and the ever-worsening consequences of climate change”according to a report by the Secretary General of the United Nations presented to the Security Council on Tuesday.
Result, “more than 18.6 million people are in a situation of severe food insecurity, i.e. 5.6 million more” than in the previous report of June 2022. “And for 2.1 million people this situation has reached an extremely critical level”specifies this semi-annual report on the situation in West Africa and the Sahel, which notes that the most affected countries are Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.
“Critical Support”
In general, the humanitarian situation, “particularly in the central Sahel, remained catastrophic, which was further aggravated by rising food and energy prices as well as climatic disasters, due to heavy rains, floods and water pollution”underlines the text, worrying about the“limited humanitarian access” by the security situation, which deprives vulnerable people of “crucial support”.
Alongside the humanitarian situation, security conditions in the region have also “continued to deteriorate”particularly in Burkina Faso and Mali.
“The central Sahel continues to face multidimensional challenges, security and humanitarian challenges at unprecedented levels, socio-political instability, aggravated by the impact of climate change, and food insecurity exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine. »summarized before the Security Council Giovanie Biha, UN Deputy Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel.