OXFAM: 50 Mln to Face Starvation in West Africa

This morning, Oxfam International NGO, has warned that about 50 million people in West Africa are at risk of starvation due to the impact of the Coronavirus epidemic which has exacerbated drought and insecurity in the region.

According to ECOWAS data, the number of people suffering from food crisis in the region could rise by 200% within three months, to 50 million in August, compared to 17 million in June.

The charity organization added that despite the efforts made by the relevant countries, people who are at risk of starvation, whether they live in cities or in rural areas, suffer from increasing difficulties in accessing food markets and face a steady rise in prices and a decrease in the availability of some basic foodstuffs, and that due to the general measures imposed to curb the spread of the epidemic, border closures and insecurity in some areas.

In a few days, Burkina Faso saw an increase in the price of a 100-kilogram millet bag from 16,000 to 19,000 CFA francs, while a liter of cooking oil increased by almost 100%.

Oxfam noted that in countries in West Africa facing humanitarian crises, access to food has become more difficult. In Burkina Faso and Niger, humanitarian assistance cannot reach thousands of displaced people or cover their food needs, making emergency aid programs more important than ever.

It added that with the start of the agricultural season, producers and farmers are also facing difficulties in obtaining quality seeds and fertilizers.

Agriculture contributes by 30.5% in the West African economy and is the largest source of income and livelihood for between 70% and 80% of the population, especially for women.

In turn, herders and communities living on livestock grazing experience increasing difficulties in securing income: firstly due to the consequences of climate change and secondly due to the closing of borders between countries or even regions and the negative impact on finding pastures, which threatens to increase the conflicts between herders and farmers.