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Red Cross warns El Nino threatens 60 mln people with hunger in sub-Saharan Africa

Xinhua, October 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Monday said an estimated 60 million people across sub-Saharan Africa, a population roughly equal to the size of Britain, do not have enough to eat this year and indications are strong that the food production situation is set to further deteriorate.

"The regularity with which we see food insecurity in Africa has left many people apathetic. But the crisis currently facing millions of families is not inevitable and should not be acceptable," said Michael Charles, IFRC acting regional representative in southern Africa.

"There are many things that we can do to stop this food crisis in its tracks and alleviate the impact on vulnerable people, but we need international support to make this happen," he added.

A series of climatic shocks in 2014 and 2015 decimated harvests, leaving many people dependent on food aid to survive.

Floods and drought in southern Africa resulted in significant declines in maize production, the regional staple. Erratic rainfall, failed crops and violence in the Sahel and eastern Africa have compromised the livelihoods of many farming communities.

However, IFRC noted the worst is yet to come. The El Nino climate phenomenon, characterized by a warming in the Pacific Ocean, is set to strengthen over the coming months and persist into 2016. When El Nino occurs, rainfall patterns shift, which increases the risk of extreme weather events.

The Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre predicted a higher likelihood of flood conditions developing in equatorial Africa, and increased risk of drought in parts of southern Africa and the Sahel region.

"Many families are surviving on one meal a day made from leaves, which have very little nutritional value. Or, they are even going without food for days because of the erratic rainfall," said Miriam Grove, IFRC operations manager, the Sahel.

To meet the immediate needs of 205,000 of the most vulnerable, IFRC has launched six emergency appeals across six countries, namely Gambia, Mauritania, Malawi, Namibia, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

Totaling almost 8 million U.S. dollars, the appeals combine immediate food relief with disaster preparedness initiatives that will equip communities to cope with further climatic shocks. Endit