Inflation, economic turmoil drive West African food crisis
The number of West Africans facing hunger has surged in recent months, driven in part by soaring inflation and currency devaluations.
It is projected that nearly 55 million people across the region will struggle to feed themselves in coming months, 4 million more than was previously projected, and a 12% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the World Food Program.
Trade sanctions imposed on military regimes have worsened the food crisis, the United Nations agency said in a statement on Friday.
“The economic situation is becoming a prominent driver of the food crisis in the region,” said Ollo Sib, a senior researcher with WFP. The situation is worse in countries where inflation is higher, with Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone among the worst effected.”
Prices of staple grains across the region have increased tenfold compared with their five-year average, driven by weaker local currencies and higher fuel and transport costs. Regional cereal production for the 2023-24 agricultural season shows a deficit of 12 million tons.
Restrictions on food exports by some countries during the coronavirus pandemic are also affecting trade and limiting food availability.
“On top of that, the cost of food increased, the cost of transportation increased and all this is having a long-term impact, because all these countries import food,” Sib said.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has the highest number of food-insecure people with more than 26 million, up from 25 million last year.
Food insecurity has reached record levels in eastern Chad, an area where people normally have enough to eat, because it has seen an influx of tens of thousands of refugees who’ve fled across the border to escape a civil war in neighboring Sudan.
