Risk and Resilience

On January 12, 2024, trade between Rwanda and Burundi came to a halt when the border crossing was unexpectedly closed. Food prices in Rwanda may have been expected to fluctuate more than normal as a result—both falling prices for commodities typically exported to Burundi that instead began flooding local markets and rising prices for commodities typically imported from Burundi that faced suddenly limited local supply.

The United Nations recently warned of the risk of famine in Sudan. The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed civilians and devastated livelihoods on a massive scale. Around 18 million people are already acutely hungry, including 3.6 million children who are acutely malnourished.

IFPRI Research Fellow Oliver Kiptoo Kirui, who co-authored the recent IFPRI-UNDP Sudan National Household Survey report—conducted in the midst of war—provides insights on the scale of the country’s food emergency.

What’s the food security situation in Sudan?

Food insecurity is escalating in West Africa and the Sahel region, according to the latest Regional Report on Food Security and Nutrition in West Africa and the Sahel (RRSAN) from the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). Between June and August 2024, as many as 50 million people across 16 countries could face CH Phase 3 (Crisis) or above food insecurity.

In October 2023, the Baidoa district of Somalia experienced severe flooding, impacting more than 120,000 people, including nearly 100,000 internally displaced people. In a new IFPRI learning brief, researchers explore how this extreme weather event affected households in the area and how the country’s Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) intervention can play an enhanced role in protecting vulnerable populations from future shocks.  

Ethiopia is in the midst of the worst drought in the past 40 years, with six consecutive failed or below-average rainy seasons in the country’s pastoral areas. At the same time, flooding in other regions has disrupted livelihoods and caused widespread damage to lands and infrastructure. Climate shocks like these have been a major contributing factor to Ethiopia’s recent economic reversals, says a new report from the World Bank Group, and strong government action is needed to prepare for and adapt to an uncertain climate future.