LONDON: The UN Food and Agricultural Organization has warned that African countries face food shortages as a result of converging global crises, undoing years of work to eradicate hunger.
The FAO said the financial crisis and grain shortages prompted by the Russia-Ukraine war, climate change and internal conflict are all playing a role in creating serious food instability for millions of people.
Forty-four percent of Africa’s wheat was imported from Ukraine and Russia before the war broke out in February.
The worst-affected region is the Horn of Africa, which has suffered from five consecutive years of failed rainy seasons.
Somalia, already long ravaged by war, is the worst affected, along with neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.
Last week, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Martin Griffiths said: “I have no doubt that we are seeing famine on our watch in Somalia, and it is the first of, I fear, more to be announced in the Horn of Africa.”
Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya currently have a total of 36.1 million people suffering from the effects of drought, according to Action Against Hunger, and are facing “an explosion of needs.”
The UN believes as many as 310 million people across the continent are likely to suffer from hunger by the end of the decade — up from 278 million, or nearly 20 percent of Africa’s total, last year.
FAO Assistant Director General Abebe Haile-Gabriel told a conference in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday that the situation is critical, prompted by “multiple and overlapping shocks and protracted crises in Africa,” including Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Africa is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition,” he said. “This is not sustainable. Unless we change course and learn how to do things differently and better, the situation will not go away or get any better.”
African Union Commissioner for Agriculture Josefa Sacko said the continent would have to develop self-sufficiency in food production in future, and donations would be necessary to achieve this. “We must build a sustainable, resilient food system that can withstand future shocks,” he added.
Francesco Rocca, president of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, warned the conference that “millions” could die in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel unless more money is made available to stave off starvation.
UN warns global crises causing hunger across Africa
https://arab.news/vv32v
UN warns global crises causing hunger across Africa
- Somalia, Horn of Africa, Sahel at risk of having decades of work to eradicate famine undone
- FAO Assistant Director General Abebe Haile-Gabriel said the situation is critical
Dozens missing after boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsized off the coast of Gambia
- At least 102 survivors have been rescued and seven bodies recovered from the boat that capsized on New Year’s Eve in northwest Gambia’s North Bank region
BANJUL: Dozens are missing after a boat carrying more than 200 migrants on their way to Europe capsized off the coast of Gambia, the West African nation’s leader said late Friday, setting off a frantic search and rescue operation.
At least 102 survivors have been rescued and seven bodies recovered from the boat that capsized on New Year’s Eve in northwest Gambia’s North Bank region, Gambian President Adama Barrow said in a state broadcast.
The emergency services were joined by local fishermen and other volunteers in searching for the victims, days after Wednesday’s incident near the village of Jinack, he said.
Thousands of Africans desperate for better opportunities in Europe risk their lives traveling on boats along the Atlantic coast, one of the world’s deadliest migrant routes that connects the West African coast across Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania.
Many migrants seeking to reach Spain via the Canary Islands never make it due to high risks of boats capsizing. In August 2025, around 150 people were either dead or missing after their boat that came from Gambia capsized off the coast of Mauritania. A similar incident in July 2024 killed more than a dozen migrants with 150 others declared missing.
It was not clear what led to the latest tragedy. Gambia’s Ministry of Defense said the boat was found “grounded on a sandbank.”
“The national emergency response plan has been activated and the government has deployed adequate resources to intensify efforts and provide assistance to the survivors,” Barrow said.
Some of the 102 survivors were undergoing urgent medical care, the Gambian leader said.
As he condoled with families, Barrow vowed a full investigation and called the accident a “painful reminder of the dangerous and life-threatening nature of irregular migration.”
“The government will strengthen efforts to prevent irregular migration and remains determined to create safer and more dignified opportunities for young people to fulfil their dreams,” he added.
