The crisis warning of a food crisis has been triggered by drought, poor harvests and rising food prices. (REUTERS)
Tags:
A UN expert on food rights has urged the international
community to act to prevent a looming crisis threatening several millions of
people in west and central Africa.
"We
must not wait until people are starving in order to act. The world must respond
immediately to avert a full-scale food and nutrition crisis," Olivier De
Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, told
reporters.
The crisis would be triggered by drought, poor harvests and
rising food prices, he warned during a visit to Ghana. Countries affected so
far by drought are Chad,
Mali, Mauritania and
Niger while there are concerns over
Burkina Faso, Senegal and
northern parts of Nigeria and Cameroon, he said.
Six
million people in Niger, 2.9 million in
Mali and 700 000 in Mauritania are affected, he
said.
"In Chad and Mauritania, there is a grain
deficit of more than 50% compared to last year," he said.
In Niger millet prices were 37% higher in November 2011 than a year earlier
"Due to their
greater nutritional needs, children face the highest risk of mortality linked to
malnutrition, followed by pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls." De
Schutter said the two regions were currently in the immediate post-harvest
period when food prices should drop significantly but in some cases they
continue to rise.
In Niger, millet prices were 37%
higher in November 2011 than a year earlier, and other key cereals are up to 40%
higher than the regional five-year average. "The (drought) season will come
earlier and last longer than usual. This will leave the Sahel hugely reliant on food imports, which will have to
be acquired at sky-high prices on the international market.
"This could
spell disaster for millions of people whose food needs will rise as their
purchasing power plummets," he said. During his visit to Ghana, De Schutter will meet farmers and
some organisations fighting against hunger and promoting food
production.
