LONDON: Acute food insecurity is expected to worsen for millions of people across an array of Arab and Muslim countries, a new report by two UN bodies has warned.
The Hunger Hotspots report by the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization highlighted Palestine, Yemen and Sudan as among the most at-risk countries, where elevated levels of starvation and death will likely occur.
Conflict, economic shocks, climate and natural disasters represent the central drivers of food insecurity worldwide, the report found.
Speaking via video link on Wednesday to the press at UN headquarters in New York City, two officials from the UN bodies outlined the report’s most alarming findings.
Jean-Martin Bauer, director of WFP’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service, said: “Conflict and violence remains the primary driver (of food insecurity), and that’s the case for 12 of the 13 hotspots identified in this report.
