Food Crisis and Related Risk Factors

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented countries with enormous policy challenges. Policymakers have had to balance limited resources between health, food systems, and economies in a continually evolving public health emergency and an associated recession. Low-income countries have faced especially difficult choices because of their limited budgets and administrative capacity.

By: Sara Gustafson

In 2019, as many as 135 million people across 55 countries required urgent food, nutrition, and livelihood assistance, according to the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises . This was the highest global number of acutely food-insecure people on record. The GRFC’s mid-year update , released in early October, takes a look at recent data for 26 of those countries (plus Togo) and specifically examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This post originally appeared on IFPRI.org.

By: Sara Gustafson

Africa south of the Sahara has faced several weather hazards during the first half of June, according to FEWS.Net.

In West Africa, between June 19 and 25, heavy rainfall followed several weeks of above-average precipitation. This led to flooding in several areas, including parts of Ghana, southern and western Nigeria, eastern Senegal, western Mali, Burkina Faso, and eastern Chad. In the coming 10 days, these and other areas of West Africa are expected to receive continued moderate to heavy rainfall, maintaining increased risks for flooding.