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Bloomberg
The number of acutely food insecure people in East Africa and the Horn of Africa is likely to increase to between 34 million and 43 million from May through July due to the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the World Food Programme.
“The most vulnerable and at risk are poor, urban communities living hand-to-mouth in
informal settlements, and millions of refugees located in densely populated camps across the region,†according to a report by the United Nations agency. About 20 million people already faced acute food insecurity in nine countries in the region before Covid-19 broke out in the region.
Food shortages, a massive plague of desert locusts and extensive flooding also threaten millions of people in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti and Eritrea.
The WFP needs $103 million to provide full food rations or full cash transfers to more than 3 million refugees in the nine countries through September, according to the report.
“Covid-19 is unprecedented as it affects not just one country or region, but the whole world.