NAIROBI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned on Tuesday that more than 18 million people across East and Southern Africa could face worsening food insecurity due to El Nino, which is expected to peak between September and December.
The WFP said East and Southern Africa face substantial risks, particularly where the upcoming rainy seasons are critical for food production, with Southern African countries especially vulnerable because of their heavy reliance on rain-fed subsistence agriculture.
"The WFP expects that countries already grappling with poverty, conflict, economic instability and repeated weather extremes will likely bear the brunt of El Nino, and that its impact will not be experienced uniformly," the UN agency said in a statement.
It noted that several countries are already experiencing below-average rainfall, flash flooding and abnormally high temperatures, while others are expected to face worsening conditions during the upcoming planting and harvest seasons.
The agency said that while the 2015-2016 El Nino affected between 60 million and 100 million people, initial analysis projects that the 2026-2027 event could push an additional 49 million people into acute food insecurity by the end of 2027.
According to the WFP, although El Nino is expected to peak between September and December, its impact on future harvest cycles will extend through 2027.
Since May, the WFP said it has activated anticipatory response measures in South Sudan, Chad, Mauritania, Uganda, Guatemala and El Salvador, delivering more than 14 million U.S. dollars in pre-disaster assistance to half a million people.
The WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have issued a joint appeal for increased funding to help vulnerable communities prepare for El Nino, aiming to protect lives, livelihoods and food security before conditions escalate into humanitarian crises.
