ROME: The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme on Thursday appealed for $202 million to help protect 8.8 million people across 22 high-risk countries from the looming El Niño weather pattern.
Strong El Niño conditions in the second half of 2026 are predicted to increase the likelihood of drought, floods and storms across parts of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, FAO and WFP said.
The 22 countries most at risk are Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe in Africa; Afghanistan, Pakistan, Philippines and East Timor in Asia-Pacific; Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Additional funding would allow FAO and WFP to expand support beyond the 1.2 million people already targeted.
Planned support includes cash transfers, climate-resilient seeds, livestock protection and flood control measures.
