Nearly 55 million people face hunger in West and Central Africa
Dakar. Senegal Reuters Soaring prices have helped fuel a food crisis in West and Central Africa, where nearly 55 million people will struggle to feed themselves in the coming months, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Friday. The number facing hunger during the June-August lean season has quadrupled over the last five years, they said, noting […]
Hunger grips southern Africa as Zimbabwe declares drought a disaster
Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday declared Zimbabwe’s drought a national disaster and said the country needed more than $US2 billion in aid to feed millions facing hunger. Mnangagwa’s statement follows similar announcements by Zambia in late February and Malawi in March, as drought induced by the El Nino global weather pattern triggers […]
Haiti gang wars push hunger to worst levels on record, reports say
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Almost half of Haiti’s people are struggling to feed themselves as gang violence spreads across the country, with several areas close to famine, international organisations said on Friday. Inflation and poor harvests have also helped push Haiti to its worst levels of food insecurity on record, they said. People take cover from […]
First Gaza aid ship leaves Cyprus with Palestinians on brink of famine
Larnaca, Cyprus/Cairo, Egypt Reuters A ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid for Gaza left Cyprus on Tuesday in a pilot project to open a sea corridor to deliver supplies to a population that aid agencies say is on the verge of famine after five months of war. While welcoming the project, however, senior UN officials […]
Haiti healthcare near collapse, says UN, as state of emergency extended
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Haiti’s government on Thursday said it would extend a state of emergency around Port-au-Prince for another month following a wave of gang violence that has threatened to bring down the government and led thousands to flee their homes. The UN humanitarian affairs agency on Thursday warned that the country’s health system was […]
One quarter of Gaza’s people one step away from famine, UN says
United Nations Reuters At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip – one quarter of the population – are one step away from famine, a senior UN aid official told the Security Council on Tuesday, warning that widespread famine could be “almost inevitable” without action. “Very little will be possible while hostilities continue and while […]
Haiti gang wars block aid routes for most vulnerable, UN agency says
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters A recent spike of violence in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, is preventing the World Food Programme from reaching hundreds of thousands of people in urgent need of supplies, as conflicts between armed gangs worsen an escalating humanitarian crisis. The United Nations’ food agency on Thursday said the latest violence, which broke out in […]
WFP plans food relief for 270,000 Zimbabweans, poor harvest expected
Harare, ZimbabweReuters The World Food Programme is planning to feed 270,000 hungry Zimbabweans over the next three months, an official said as the country braces for a poor harvest due to an El Nino-induced drought. The southern African country has been struggling to feed itself since 2000, when former leader Robert Mugabe led the seizure […]
Aid agencies report looting, suspend operations in Sudanese state
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Two international aid organisations say that their facilities have been looted and they have suspended operations in an area of Sudan where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces recently advanced in its war with the army. The halting of operations by the UN World Food Programme and medical charity MSF in El […]
War pushes Sudan towards “catastrophic” famine-like conditions
Cairo, EgyptReuters Families in Sudan’s conflict zones could experience famine-like hunger by next summer, the United Nations has warned, while some in the war-ravaged capital are surviving on a single, meagre daily meal. Some 30 million people, almost two thirds of the population, are in need of assistance in Sudan according to the UN, double […]