The United Nations (UN) has reported that two-third of the world’s hungriest people live in Nigeria and seven other countries.
The other listed countries are Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In its Global Report on Food Crisis 2019, the body reports that no less than 113 million people experienced high levels of food insecurity in 2018.
The report, which was released on Wednesday in Brussels, warned that these food crises were primarily driven by conflict and climate-related disasters.
It said: “The worst food crises in 2018, in order of severity, were: Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Sudan, South Sudan and northern Nigeria.
“These eight countries accounted for two-thirds of the total number of people facing acute food insecurity – amounting to nearly 72 million people.”
The report also states that the affected countries are expected to remain among the world’s most severe food crises in 2019.
The report further said: “In the 16 states of northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, the number of people in ‘Crisis’ and ‘Emergency’ decreased by 40 per cent between June and August 2017 and 2018 to 5.3 million.
“At the peak of the lean season three million were acutely food insecure in the three north-eastern states affected by the Boko Haram insurgency where protracted conflict and mass displacement disrupted agriculture, trade, markets and livelihoods, and pushed up food prices.”
Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), José da Silva, said concerning the development: “We must act at scale across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus to build the resilience of affected and vulnerable populations. To save lives, we also have to save livelihoods.”
