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Africa Food Crisis: A Growing Reality |
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| The current food crisis across the continent of Africa is unprecedented in its scale and complexity. The poor, the sick, the very old and the very young are being hit the hardest, struggling to feed themselves and their children. Although Africa is not the only continent to be experiencing mounting pressure on food supplies, the combination of longer and more destructive drought periods, soaring food prices and, in some countries, insecurity and war, are creating a "perfect storm" of need and hunger.
For children and their families who are already struggling to survive, the situation is going from bad to worse. |
Food For Thought:- In sub-Saharan Africa, one in three people -- or 236 million -- are chronically hungry, the highest proportion of undernourished people globally (FAO)
- In developing countries, households often spend up to 70% of their income on food purchases.
- In times of crisis, children tend to suffer the most, with malnutrition contributing to the deaths of more than 3.5 million children under five every year around the world.
- Since this crisis took hold, 140 million more people in the world are experiencing hunger on a daily basis, bringing the total number of those hungry and in need to 963 million - almost a billion people.
Hunger Hot SpotsIn addition to ongoing food-related programming across the continent of Africa, such as feeding centres for malnourished children, food distributions, and livelihood support for farmers, World Vision is increasing its efforts in the following countries, where children have become the most vulnerable to the effects of the current crisis:
1. Chad
2. Niger
3. Mauritania
4. Senegal
5. Sudan
6. Zimbabwe
7. Uganda
8. Ethiopia
9. Somalia
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