At least 38-million people in Africa are threatened by hunger, caused mostly by a drought that is extending from the Horn of Africa to the southern part of the continent, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
WFP director James Morris told the UN Security Council in an open meeting that the lack of political will remains the only obstacle to help those in needs.
”This is an unprecedented crisis, which calls for an
unprecedented response,” Morris said. ”The magnitude of the disaster unfolding in Africa has not yet been fully grasped by the international community.”
”An exceptional effort is urgently needed if a major catastrophe is to be averted,” he said. ”Business as usual will not do.”
Morris said the drought and other natural disasters are affecting other countries in the world, including Central America, Afghanistan and Cambodia.
WFP and other relief agencies have reported that more than 13-million people in southern Africa are threatened by famine and the drought in Ethiopia could be worse than that of the 1980s. WFP did
not provide a breakdown of the population and the countries in Africa that will suffer hunger.
While he reported that an unprecedented number of people were threatened by hunger in Africa, Morris said countries like India, Russia and China have become economically better off and have boosted food production to produce surplus for export and donations.
Morris appeared before the 15-nation council to urge its members to assist his agency’s commitments to the poor. WFP is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars a year to feed people around the world. – Sapa-DPA