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East Africa facing acute food insecurity as drought continues, alerts FEWS and FAO

In April 2019, the FAO Food Price Index rose 1.5 percent from March and reached its second highest level since June 2018. The increase was driven by the slight price increase in meat, dairy, vegetable oils and sugar prices. The index, however, remained 2.3 percent below March 2018 levels.

The Cereal Price Index was down 2.8 percent from March and 5 percent below its April 2018 value. The decline was pressured by large export availabilities and slowing trade.

The FAO/WFP Joint Rapid Food Security Assessment was recently released, drawing attention to the increasingly alarming food security situation in North Korea. The country faces food shortages after the worst harvest in 10 years. There is a food deficit of 1.36 million metric tons, and 10.1 million people are experiencing food insecurity.

The world’s humanitarian assistance and spending needs have more than doubled over the past decade, growing by around 127 percent. Around 40 percent of that went to the food and agriculture sectors. Those needs have intensified over the past few years, as conflict and climate shocks have combined to increase the number of people worldwide who require humanitarian aid to fulfill basic daily food needs.

According to the 2018 Global Report on Food Crises, an estimated 124 million people worldwide face crisis-level or worse food insecurity, largely as a result of conflict and political instability or extreme weather events.