MADRID, 16 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Joining Forces alliance, which brings together some of the main international NGOs working in Africa, has denounced this Sunday, World Food Day, that almost 60 million people affected by acute food insecurity live in the center and in the west of the continent, almost half are children.
The alliance, which includes Save the Children, World Vision, SOS Children’s Villages, Terre des Hommes, Educo and Plan International, points out that both regions account for almost a quarter of those affected by the very serious food crisis that is devastating the areas most disadvantaged on the planet.
Among this population almost eight million people are directly threatened by famine and urgent action is needed, adds the alliance.
NGOs estimate that more than half of households affected by acute food insecurity are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria. Another 12.7 million affected people are in the central Sahel, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Nigeria, in particular, remains one of the most worrying countries globally for the period between October 2022 and January 2023 and for which immediate help is needed.
“2022 has been one of the toughest years for children and their families in West and Central Africa, and this year’s lean season has been one of the worst in 10 years. Hardest hit have been people living in conflict-affected regions. Malnutrition rates among children under the age of five have skyrocketed,” laments Save the Children’s director for both African regions, Philippe Adapoe.
Save the Children denounces a multi-pronged crisis that combines the armed conflict, the long-term consequences of the restriction of activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the constant increase in the costs of basic food, fuel and the fertilizers.
Added to this are the effects of climate change, with floods that damage crops, or the reduction in the production of cereals and vegetables due to the decrease and lack of rain.
Carla Denizard, World Vision regional manager for West Africa, calls for child protection. “With the opening of schools in most countries in the region, it is important to ensure that there is enough healthy food for children to be healthy and enjoy their right to go to and stay in school.”
The alliance thus calls on local officials and the international community to strengthen national food security systems, increase equitable, inclusive and child-sensitive social protection systems, and prioritize cash transfers to better support acutely food insecure families.
It also calls for developing and expanding nutrition-sensitive social protection programs that target households most at risk, as well as ensuring that the most vulnerable children and their families have access to affordable nutritious food and adequate health services, including pregnant and lactating women, as well as infants and children under the age of five.
