The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a dire warning that millions of people in West and Central Africa are facing unprecedented levels of hunger as ongoing conflict, displacement, economic challenges, and extreme weather conditions push the region toward a severe crisis.
Recent reports show that 36 million people are currently struggling to meet their basic food needs, with projections indicating that this number could rise to over 52 million during the lean season from June to August.
Among those, nearly three million people are experiencing emergency hunger conditions, and 2,600 individuals in Mali are at risk of catastrophic food insecurity.
Despite the growing needs, resources are scarce, and without immediate funding, WFP may have to reduce its operations further, both in terms of the number of people it can assist and the amount of food it can distribute.
“Without urgent funding, WFP will be forced to scale back further, affecting the number of people we reach and the size of the food rations provided,” said Margot van der Velden, the regional director for West and Central Africa.
Food insecurity has reached unprecedented levels in the region. In 2019, only four percent of the population faced food insecurity, but today, that figure has soared to 30 percent, according to Ollo Sib, a senior research adviser with WFP.
Sib emphasized the dire situation, particularly in the Sahel, noting that the situation remains “extremely difficult and urgent.”
WFP teams recently visited affected areas, including northern Ghana, where communities are battling the effects of an unprecedented drought.
In these regions, people have had to replant multiple times, each failed attempt adding more financial strain due to the high cost of seeds and fertilizers. WFP also visited northern Mali, which is facing catastrophic hunger conditions.
There, local pastoralists have been unable to sell their livestock due to soaring food prices, which have increased by 50 percent compared to the five-year average.
Ongoing conflicts remain one of the primary drivers of hunger in West and Central Africa. Over 10 million people have been displaced by violence, including more than two million refugees and asylum seekers in Chad, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Niger.
An additional eight million people are internally displaced, particularly in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Rising food and fuel prices have also exacerbated the hunger crisis, pushing food inflation to alarming levels. Repeated extreme weather events have further eroded the ability of families to feed themselves, the WFP said.
The WFP is actively responding to the crisis and is seeking $710 million to support life-saving operations in the region through the end of October.
The goal is to assist nearly 12 million people this year, and so far, three million of the most vulnerable individuals—such as refugees, displaced persons, malnourished children under five, and pregnant or breastfeeding women—have received critical aid.
However, WFP warned that without immediate funding, up to five million people may lose their assistance.
Additionally, WFP called on governments and partners to invest in long-term solutions that focus on building resilience and reducing dependency on aid.
Since 2018, the agency has worked with regional governments to address the root causes of hunger, rehabilitating over 300,000 hectares of land as part of its efforts to support sustainable solutions.
 has issued a dire warning that millions of people in West and Central Africa are facing unprecedented levels of hunger as ongoing conflict, displacement, economic challenges, and extreme weather conditions push the region toward a severe crisis.){kind=link}