NAIROBI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 82.1 million people in East and Central Africa are currently food insecure and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said in a statement released on Friday.
The agencies said more than 53.1 million of those affected are in seven of the eight IGAD member states: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
Other affected countries include Tanzania, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi.
The two agencies attributed the surge in food insecurity to climate shocks and increasing conflicts in the region.
"Extreme weather events, escalating conflict in various areas, macroeconomic challenges, and widespread displacement remain the main drivers of acute food insecurity in the region," the statement said, noting that Sudan and the DRC remain among the world's most food-insecure countries.
According to the FAO and IGAD, 25.5 million people in the DRC are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. This includes displaced populations and returnees, particularly in North Kivu, Ituri, South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces, who are most affected due to prolonged conflict.
Similarly, in Sudan, 24.6 million people are highly food insecure, according to the statement.
The agencies warned that the crisis could worsen in the coming months due to the ongoing La Nina phenomenon, which is expected to persist in the near term, with a likely transition to El Nino by May 2025. They called for immediate, coordinated and multi-sectoral lifesaving assistance in areas experiencing the most severe levels of acute food insecurity. ■
