Protracted Conflicts Undermine Efforts to Achieve Food Security in Africa

ENA February 8/2020 Protracted conflicts have undermined the efforts to achieve food security and nutrition as well as rural poverty in Africa, according to FOA.

On the margin of the 33th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), stakeholders drawn from FAO and other regional and international organizations today discussed on the current food crisis in the continent.

During the discussion, the World Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) revealed that several African countries currently face food insecurity due to conflicts, extreme climate and economic slowdown.

FAO indicated that the significance of maintaining peace and security cannot be overemphasized for Africa’s development in general, and for attaining the goals of food security and nutrition in particular.

The global organization said that it equally true that sustained peace cannot be achieved without meeting food security and nutrition goals on a sustainable manner.

According to the 2019 UN report, progress was made to reduce the prevalence of hunger from 24 percent in 2000 to 18 percent in 2014, but it rose again to 19 percent.

The number of undernourished people has been increasing steadily where it reached above 256 million people in 2018.

Conflicts left 33 million people in 10 African countries in need of urgent food assistance.

The goal to ending hunger in Africa by 2025 stands out among the prominent commitments of the Malabo declaration but conflict and civil insecurity continue to remain the enemies of food security, it was reported.