Tens of millions are at risk of famine in Africa

The coronavirus epidemic could exacerbate food insecurity in Africa. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) sais that up to 2.1 million people in the Sahel area could be left without food if humanitarian aid is not closed due to border closures – Index wrote after MTI.

Eric Branckaert, of WFP Regional Center, said there were 680,000 people in need in the Sahel in 2019, a figure that would have increased by 77 percent by 2020. The unprecedented growth is mainly due to local conflicts, especially in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad and Mali, as well as in Sierra Leone and Liberia, but the coronavirus epidemic and locust infestation are also exacerbating the situation of those living there. (index, Csatári Flóra Dóra)